CHEMOTAXONOMY

CHEMOTAXONOMY

1. BY
T.MITHRAA
2016601602

2. Stable
Unambiguous
Not easily changeable
Chemical data may be obtained from any part of the
plant
Chemical information may be used for description or
identification of plants, or for establishing
relationships

3. (Kochaer, 1981)

4. Raphides-crystalsofcalciumoxalatewhichare
presentinlargecellsindifferentplanttissues
Theyarelongneedleshapedcrystals,pointedat
bothendsandusuallyoccurinbundles,thusbeing
easilyidentified.
Observedinasmanyas35familiesofangiosperms.
SeveralfamiliesoftheOrderCentrospermaeand
theFamilyCactaceaeshowthepresenceof
raphides

5. ovary of Lachenalia bulbifera
Liriope platyphylla
tepals of Conanthera campanulata

6. Chemical compounds
Primary
metabolites
Secondary
metabolites
Semantides

7. Molecules involved in vital metabolic pathways.
Universal occurrence
Not very significant in chemotaxonomy
Eg: Sugar containing carbohydrate ‘sedoheptulose' is
stored in large quantities as a reserve food in the
genus Sedum
Amino acids

8. Secondary plant products are those macromolecules
that lack nitrogen
Restricted occurrence
Greater taxonomic importance
Includes different kinds of compounds such as
phenolics, alkaloids, terpenoids, etc.
They are usually not involved in vital functions and
are largely storage products or pigments.

9. Flavonoids –Phenolic compounds of leaves
Monocots & Dicots
Structural variability and chemical stability
besides widespread distribution.
Rapid and easy identification

10. 80 species of plants from the family Ulmaceae
A majority of the species contain flavonols, but a few
species have glyco-flavonols.
These two types of flavonoid compounds are never
present together in any species.
Ulmaceae is divided into two subfamilies called
Ulmoideae and Celtoideae
Family Ulmaceae characterised by the presence of
flavonols, and family Celtaceae. characterised by the
presence of glyco-flavonols
(Ciannasi ,1978).

12. InthegenusSalvia,19speciescouldbe
distinctlyidentifiedandclassifiedonthe
basisoftheirmonoterpenes
Triterpenes and sesquiterpenes were useful
in the classification of the families
Cucurbitaceae and Compositae (Asteraceae),
respectively

13. DNA(primarysemantide)
RNA(secondarysemantide)
Proteins(tertiarysemantide)-mostfavoured
Electrophoresis-storageproteinsoftetraploidwheat,
TriticumdicoccumandthediploidgrassAegilops
Squarrosa
Serologicalanalysis-differentamountofserological
activityinmembersofdifferentplantfamiliesmaybe
interpretedasareflectionoftheevolutionary
differencesintheprimarystructureoftheproteins
Several tuber-producing species of Solanumwere studied
to understand the evolution of the cultivated potato
Solanumtuberosum(Hawks, 1960)

14. Betalains –nitrogeneous anthocyanins
Steriods
Iridoid compounds –Monoterpenoid cyclopentanoid
lectones
Alkaloids -nitrogen containing organic compounds with
a heterocyclic ring
Glucosinolates –mustard oil glucosides
Lipids and waxes
Cyanogenic compounds