  The first part of this paper deals with the impact of nonsolar and - for
late-type, dwarf, and high redshift galaxies - generally subsolar abundances on
the interpretation of observational data for starburst galaxies. It points out
the differences in colors, luminosities, emission lines, etc. obtained from a
model using low metallicity input physics for a starburst on top of the stellar
population of a galaxy as compared to an otherwise identical model using solar
metallicity input physics only.
  The second part deals with the chemical evolution during a starburst and
contrasts model predictions with observational clues.
