Disease resistance in plants: The road to phytoalexins and beyond

This paper summarizes the views of the authors on the roles specific metabolites play in the resistance of plants against bacterial and fungal diseases. Pesticidal specific plant metabolites may be synthesized in plant tissues constitutively (phytoanticipins) or in response to microbial infections (phytoalexins). This paper identifies certain key steps in the discovery of phytoalexins and touches upon the current state of phytoalexin research.