Environmental microbes as modulators of plant volatile landscapes: Implications for plant-insect chemical communication.
- Open access
Environmental microbes at plant-atmosphere interfaces modify plant volatile signals, influencing insect communication and behavior across four key surfaces.
- Why it matters: Understanding how microbes alter plant volatiles is crucial because these signals guide herbivores, pollinators, and parasitoids, impacting ecological interactions and pest control strategies.
- What they did: The review discusses microbial biotransformation of plant volatiles on leaf, nectar, fruit, and bark surfaces, highlighting how climate change and land-use changes threaten these microbial-plant-insect interactions.
- The result: Insights into microbial modulation of volatile signals can inform sustainable pest management approaches, emphasizing the importance of microbial ecology in maintaining ecological balance and agricultural productivity.