Mechanical and phytochemical protection mechanisms of Calligonum comosum in arid deserts.

Unlike animals, plants are sessile organisms, lacking circulating antibodies and specialized immune cells and are exposed to various harsh environmental conditions that make them at risk of being attacked by different pathogens and herbivores. Plants produce chemo-signals to respond to the surroundings and be able to distinguish between harmless and harmful signals. In this study, the production of phytochemicals as plant signaling mechanisms and their defensive roles in disease resistance and repelling herbivores are examined in Calligonum comosum.