Question

lanting the Seeds of our DemiseIt turns out the cute alien creatures we studied previously in the virtual 3 lab turned out to be thefirst steps in an alien invasion. Rather than a military approach, the invaders have decided to rely on a biological one. It was observed that the alien creatures would kill plants they remained near for an extended length of time. There appears to be no effect on humans or other animals in proximity to the aliens. Assuming that the intention of these aliens, like any group of well intentioned alien invaders, is to wipe out all life on Earth, explain the reasoning behind the targeting of plants.The toxins released by the now less cute alien creatures have been found to be present within the plant cells, including inside the chloroplasts. Based on these observations, what would you likely suspect would be true regarding the chemical nature of some or all of these compounds?

Answer 1

From the information given, these alien toxins seem to be host-specific phytotoxic elements which only infect and kill plants not humans or other animals.

Generally, the mechanism by which these toxins function, is regulated by the expression of specific plant genes and hence, the specificity is established.

Based on the literature available, all known HSTs (host-specific toxins) are found to be secondary metabolites in nature. Because of this, they get adaptative advantage and are able to permeate and reproduce on the plant body.

Chemically, these toxins can be cynogenic glycosides, protease inhibitors or glycoalkaloids, activated by the plant proteins.