Dynamic environmental interactions shaped by vegetative plant volatiles
Rocío Escobar‐Bravo, Po‐An Lin, Jamie M. Waterman, Matthias Erb
Abstract
distinct routes. Both biosynthesis and release are regulated by other organisms as well as abiotic factors. In turn, vegetative plant volatiles modify the physiology and the behavior of a wide range of organisms, from microbes to mammals. Several concepts and frameworks can help to explain and predict the evolution and ecology of vegetative plant volatile emission patterns of specific pathways: multifunctionality of specialized metabolites, chemical communication displays and the information arms race, and volatile physiochemistry. We discuss how these frameworks can be leveraged to understand the evolution and expression patterns of vegetative plant volatiles. The multifaceted roles of vegetative plant volatiles provide fertile grounds to understand ecosystem dynamics and harness their power for sustainable agriculture.