Yearbook 2006

In response to damage, plants produce a large amount of natural compounds. Establishing the functional role of these natural compounds in plant defense is an important topic of chemical ecology. Recently, special attention has been given to volatile plant defense compounds that are emitted by the plant attracting natural enemies of the attacker. To attract the correct enemies, plants emit specific volatile blends which respond to the different types of damage inflicted by their enemies. more

In the coevolutionary interplay between herbivorous insects and their foodplants, specific chemicals play a central role: Plants and insects use novel genes to control chemicals for offensive or defensive purposes. Many of these genes arise by minor modifications of pre-existing ones, but surprisingly, some originate from unexpected sources, including the genomes of completely different species. Scientists from the MPI for Chemical Ecology review several cases that illustrate this opportunistic nature of evolution. more

As the active component within composite coatings conducting polymers have a great potential as effective and environmentally friendly corrosion pigments. However, this only works, if extended percolation networks of the conducting polymer are avoided in the coating. more

High energy synchrotron radiation tomography allows the visualisation of creep damage in the bulk of materials. The results of the experiments reveal the time-dependent evolution of the time dependence of damage of samples and will contribute significantly to understanding the behaviour of high temperature materials. more

Significant efforts were directed towards the design and testing of phenol-containing ligands for synthesizing radical-containing transition metal complexes as potential candidates for oxidative catalysis of organic substrates like alcohols, amines and 2-aminophenol with oxygen from air. Functional models for different copper-oxidases, such as Galactose Oxidase (GO), Amine Oxidases (AO) and Phenoxazinone Synthase (PHs) are reported. In most of the cases, an "on-off" mechanism of the radicals without redox participation from the metal centers seems to be operative in the catalysis involving such metal-iminosemiquinone radical complexes. more

Amazonian floodplain forests are endangered due to their easy accessibility, nutrient-rich soils and richness in natural resources. Information on diversity, dynamics and tree growth in relation to environmental factors is the basis for the development of sustainable management concepts to guarantee their multiple ecological functions and at the same time the supply of natural resources for the local populations. more