Secondary Metabolism in Microorganisms, Plants, and Animals

Many of the reactions and compounds involved in metabolism are almost iden­ tical in the different groups of living organisms. They are known as primary me­ tabolic reactions and primary metabolic products. In addition, however, a wide variety of biochemical pathways are characteristic of only a few species of organ­ isms, of single "chemical races", or even of a certain stage of differentiation of specialized cells. Such pathways are collectively referred to as "secondary metab­ olism", an...