Secondary metabolites in bryophytes: an ecological aspect.
Bryophytes frequently grow in an unfavorable environment as the earliest land plants, and inevitably biosynthesize secondary metabolites against biotic or abiotic stress. They not only defend against the plant competition, microbial attack, and insect or animal predation, but also function in UV protection, drought tolerance, and freezing survival. This review covers the ecological aspect of secondary metabolites in bryophytes and is taxonomically presented according to the ecological significances.
Xie
Chun-Feng
CF
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, No. 44 West Wenhua Road, Jinan, P. R. China.
Lou
Hong-Xiang
HX