Talk:Plant secondary metabolism

Second review by Team 7 The article explains secondary plant metabolism in much more depth now. In the introductory paragraph, it is stated that plant secondary metabolism is essential to facilitating plant growth, although not essential to plant survival. The metabolites sections should still talk more about how individual metabolites are used to facilitate plant growth. Although more details have been added about how metabolites are related to plant secondary metabolism, the bulk of it seems to refer to how metabolites affect humans and animals.

Grammar/Punctuation/Language: Specific examples, in the history section “took off” is a colloquialism and shouldn’t be used. “all that was known was that” diction should be changed. “by-products” is in quotes and shouldn’t be. The first six words of the article are inconsistent, plant secondary metabolism vs secondary plant metabolism. There are syntax errors, and general diction is sub-par.

Content: Much of the content regarding plant secondary metabolism is redundant—the same information (that it’s not essential for plant survival but facilitates growth) is repeated throughout the introduction, primary vs secondary plant metabolism and history. The form for the paragraphs is inconsistent. (Specifically, for example, how the metabolites affect people or animals could be the last paragraph of each metabolite section). Some sections talk about metabolite chemistry before its relation to plant secondary metabolism, etc. Since there are multiple connections with how different metabolites affect humans or animals, this could be made into a separate paragraph for each of the metabolite of which it applies. Under the section Cyanogenic glycoside, the article still refers to two figures that are not there. The Gossypol section appears unchanged, and does not relate much to plants. Could talk in more detail about how gossypol affects pigmentation in plants), rather than how it can cause hypokalemic paralysis (just state that it can cause hypokalemic paralysis, then wiki link it).

Organization: The introduction could be combined with “primary vs secondary plant metabolism,” since the content is very similar.

Sources: Not all of the sources are scholarly articles. In particular, source 5, 6, 20, and 21 are not scholarly articles. Wikipedia articles are cited. (Lindatq (talk) 21:51, 3 May 2011 (UTC)) (Erictien (talk) 21:52, 3 May 2011 (UTC)) (Justinowens1292 (talk) 21:53, 3 May 2011 (UTC))

Things to consider regarding language: Example of how the language could be changed. (This is the first paragraph and changes are in bold. Words are also bolded if a previous or following word was deleted). Secondary plant metabolism creates products that aid in the growth and development of plants, although it is not required for plant survival. Secondary metabolism facilitates primary metabolism in plants. Primary metabolism consists of chemical reactions that allow the plant to live. In order for the plants to stay healthy, secondary metabolism plays a pinnacle role in keeping all the of plants' systems working properly. A common role that metabolites take on in plants is promotion of the defense mechanisms. They enable the plant to fight off herbivores, pests, and pathogens. (I'm not sure what these last sentences are trying to say. What trait does it refer to? Defense mechanisms? If the trait is defense mechanisms, this sentence needs to be changed, since all plants have some type of defense mechanism.) Although researchers know that this trait is common in many plants, it is still difficult to determine the precise role each secondary metabolite plays. Some of the roles secondary metabolites play are deterrenct/anti-feedant activity, toxicity or acting as precursors to physical defense systems. (Lindatq (talk) 22:06, 3 May 2011 (UTC))

Second review by Team 11

Article still does not discuss where secondary plant metabolism takes place and how it occurs. There is not any discussion over how the secondary plant metabolites are activated. What enzymes play a role in the activation of the Metabolites?

The references made to a figure 1 and figure 2 in the Cyanogenic glycoside section are still there. If you want to refer to these figures make sure to include them as a picture or else these references definitely need to be removed.

The process of secondary metabolism in plants could be more easily understood with the use of visual aids such as pictures, diagrams or pathways.

There are still direct citations of other Wikipedia articles and this is not appropriate for this project. Also, if possible try to include the links to your references in the reference section as it makes reading your sources a little more difficult.

(Agrahn1 (talk) 21:33, 3 May 2011 (UTC)) (Ad kh2 (talk) 21:36, 3 May 2011 (UTC)) (Rakman813 (talk) 21:38, 3 May 2011 (UTC)) Thearn182 (talk) 22:11, 3 May 2011 (UTC)

Review of Group 2 Article by Group 7

This article is about the metabolites involved in plant (secondary) metabolism. The article gives background on study of plant secondary metabolism. It also lists several examples of metabolites, and gives background as to what else they can be used for or how they affect humans and animals. However, our main concern is that it is unclear how many of these metabolites are involved in plant metabolism.

Pros

• The article is cited well, and is supported by plenty of sources.

• There are many technical examples regarding molecules.

• A lot of facts are used in the examples (such as cardiovascular disease in France, and the lack of childbirth in Japan).

• References studies/experiments

• Some of the content is made more relevant due to connections with humans and animals, and the effects metabolites have on humans and animals.

o Could make an entire separate section regarding how secondary plant metabolites affect humans and animals.

Grammar/punctuation/Language:

• Plant secondary metabolism vs secondary plant metabolism inconsistency. The phrase should be written the same way throughout the article (and should be consistent with the article name).

• There are a lot of run-on sentences (for example, the first sentence in the first and second sections is a run-on sentences.)

• “by product” should have a hyphen

• The first sentence under atropine doesn’t make sense

• Redundancy: “However” is used multiple times throughout the first and second sections. “Anti-” is used multiple times in one sentence (under flavonoids), incorrectly. Antioxidants is one word

• Shouldn’t use “and/or”

• There are a lot of grammatical errors, typos, run-on sentences, etc.

Content

• The introductory paragraph should be expanded to explain secondary plant metabolism, or a separate section should be made to explain it (such as how it works, what it is, etc.)

o Should try connecting secondary plant metabolism with primary- how does secondary plant metabolism facilitate primary?

• Should make a section for secondary metabolites (or just metabolites)

• Examples should be used to illustrate and elaborated what is stated (regarding plant secondary metabolism), rather than used in order to explain secondary plant metabolism

• Examples should be more concise and to the point, and should be used to support explanation of secondary plant metabolism. Explanation of metabolism needs to be more in-depth, whereas examples can less in-depth.

• Nothing traces back to the introductory paragraph about plant metabolism. Connect thesis to rest of article. There DEFINITELY needs to be section for secondary metabolites (what exactly are the separate sections examples of?)

• Consistency with tone

o Tone and grammar

 Very informal tone (“when people are sweating a lot…”)

• Change “examples” header

• Organization

o There are a LOT of facts, but they’re very random and disjointed. There is no elaboration on the facts (connections with plant secondary metabolism or references to sections that the facts appear in)

o break different sections up into more paragraphs to make them easier to read

Under history

o Chronological order should be used

o History can be broken up into sections based on time periods.

Under Atropine

o What is “A. belladonna”? What reaction does it refer to and what does it do? What is a secondary plant metabolite? The writer doesn’t even state that it’s a metabolite. Wiki link it?

o This section is technical about structure and chemistry, but doesn’t relate atropine to metabolites or plant secondary metabolism

Under Flavonoids

o Introduces facts that are not elaborated on

 Flavonoid coloring in plants

 How do antioxidants prevent cancer or cardiovascular disease

Under Cyanogenic Glycoside

o Background information that the section starts with is informative, but is completely random, since this is the 3rd example.

o What structure is the section referring to? We don’t know what cyanogenic glycoside’s structure is like

o There are multiple references to figures that aren’t in the article

o This entire section is devoid of citations.

o Information is more relevant to the article topic than other sections

Under Gossypol

o Addition of gossypol molecular weight is completely random (because molecular weights are not mentioned for any other metabolites), and the weight doesn’t include units.

o No connection with plant metabolism

o Addition of a date regarding the lack of childbirth in Japan is random

Under Phytoestrogens

o How do phytoestrogens act like estrogen? Is it due to structure?

o Example at the end is missing a word. Heart disease?

o Needs to elaboratation regarding the manner in which plants synthesize these compounds

Under Carotenoids

o Tell us what the abbreviated molecules are (what is DOXP, or GGPP?).

Sources • Source four is questionable- How was the source accessed?

• Sources 5-7, and 19 are not scholarly articles. Source five has no author

• Source 18 references a Wikipedia article, which may not be accurate.

• There is a section with no citations.(Lindatq (talk) 19:41, 13 April 2011 (UTC)) (Erictien (talk) 19:56, 13 April 2011 (UTC)) Justinowens1292 (talk) 21:18, 13 April 2011 (UTC) (Avinash92 (talk) 21:38, 13 April 2011 (UTC))

Group 11 review

The article discusses the history behind secondary metabolism and the importance of specific secondary metabolites in plants. They discuss how these metabolites keep plants healthy or help them to survive in nature. More importantly they hit on the idea that these metabolites, once thought useless for plants, are truly critical in their survival. They also go on to talk about how some of these metabolites affect humans, both in beneficial and negative ways.

Major Concerns: Major inconsistency in the theme of the article- In the introduction group mentions metabolites are not necessary for plant survival, but in the history section they say metabolites play an indispensible role in the survival of plants

Explanation needed- Article does not have an overall explanation of what secondary metabolism in plants is and how it occurs. Considering the title is secondary plant metabolism the article should not just give examples of specific metabolites, but must also explain how these metabolites function in a plant or a plant’s metabolism.

Relevance- Article begins with history and immediately goes on to listing many examples of plant metabolites, but there is no section devoted to explaining the relevance of this topic to society today. A casual reader may lose interest in this topic if they cannot relate to any of the subjects explained. Group does have a few good smaller examples inside the larger examples that give relevance to the metabolites they list, but they need to highlight these and think about making a whole section for how research into these metabolites affects people today.

References- There were references made to a figure 1 and figure 2 in the Cyanogenic glycoside section. If you want to refer to these figures make sure to include them or else these references definitely need to be removed.

Minor Concerns: Sentence Structure/Flow of words- It sounds tacky but there are definitely issues that need to be addressed concerning grammar and the way some of these sentences flow. An example of this is the end of the phytoestrogen section, which contained both grammatical errors and some strange sentence construction. Make sure to look over all the other sections as there are mistakes (missed words and strange grammar/sentences) in some of them as well.

Suggestions: Pictures- These would be nice to have especially to diagram the process of secondary metabolism in plants or to showcase some of the examples given in the article. They will help keep the readers attention and possibly clear up any confusion they may experience from a wordy explanation.

Citation: Most of the citations appear fine, but a few are direct citations of other Wikipedia articles and this is not appropriate for this project. Professor Sriram said we have to use primary sources so try find articles related to these topics. Also, if possible try to include the links to your references in the reference section as it makes reading your sources a little more difficult.

(Agrahn1 (talk) 19:53, 11 April 2011 (UTC)). (Rakman813 (talk) 19:56, 11 April 2011 (UTC)). (Ad kh2 (talk) 19:58, 11 April 2011 (UTC)). Thearn182 (talk) 21:51, 11 April 2011 (UTC) Benlee92 (talk) 00:12, 12 April 2011 (UTC) Zwaisel (talk) 02:46, 13 April 2011 (UTC)