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Do calcium oxalate crystals protect against herbivory?

Élder Antônio Sousa Paiva1

  • 1Plant Secretion & Reproduction (PlantSeR) Lab, Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil. epaiva@icb.ufmg.br.

Die Naturwissenschaften
|May 27, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Calcium oxalate crystals in plants offer limited protection against herbivores, particularly insects. Their mechanical action is often insufficient to deter chewing insects, questioning their role as a primary plant defense.

Keywords:
BiomineralizationCalcium oxalateHerbivoryInsect–plant interactionsPeritrophic matrix

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