Cucurbitacins in Plant–Insect Interactions: Biosynthesis, Regulation, Ecological Functions, and Prospects for Crop Protection
Cucurbitacins are highly oxygenated tetracyclic triterpenoids characterized by intense bitterness, substantial structural diversity, and important consequences for plant–herbivore interactions. Although best known from Cucurbitaceae, cucurbitacins and related cucurbitane-type metabolites also occur in phylogenetically...