Nature of Allelopathy
Commonly cited effects of allelopathy include reduced seed
germination and seedling growth. Like synthetic herbicides,
there is no common mode of action or physiological target
site for all allelochemicals. However, known sites of action
for some allelochemicals include cell division, pollen
germination, nutrient uptake, photosynthesis, and specific
enzyme function. For example, one study that examined
the effect of an allelochemical known in velvetbean,
3-(3’,4’-dihydroxyphenyl)-l-alanine (l-DOPA), indicated
that the inhibition by this compound is due to adverse
effects on amino acid metabolism and iron concentration
equilibrium.