All you want and still lose weight sounds like a line from a late infomercial, food, but it is exactly how some plants are getting away with murder.
Chomping after the start of a caterpillar on their leaves some potatoes and tomato species avenge a defensive chemical that produces the insect growth stops. An important nutrient, threonine, which will have to grow insect breaks the chemical, TD2.
The salad bar presented by the plants leaves proves to be a deadly mirage. The unfortunate insects starve as Erysichthon in Greek mythology, who was cursed with unending hunger, although their bellies are full.
Slide show: Insects: up close and really, really personal
The chemical, TD2 works only his dirty as soon as it is stomach within the Caterpillar. So eat more of the plant makes only the hapless leaf Muncher hungry.
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This mechanism was sadistic self-defense recently by Gregg Howe, who studied Michigan State University. He found that some plants, such as tomatoes and potatoes, TD2, a special form of enzyme threonine deaminase, could produce, after by insects is attacked.
All plants have threonine deaminase or TD1, but only certain files can produce TD2. The chemical structure of the TD2 is more stable than TD1, making it easier to save it and longer lasting. In other words, TD2 one day in the development might be useful new pest control.
"" The arms race paradigm very important statement, Howe, said for the chemical plant diversity and interactions between plants and herbivores in General in a press release Michigan State"is our understanding of the molecular evolution of the chemical defensive properties still in its infancy unfortunately."
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The research was published recently in the proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.
Figure 1: Chemicals released by some plants can starve insects, which feed on them. (Courtesy: Kurt Stepnitz, Michigan State University)
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