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Updated: Jan 29, 2026
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Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
Published on: March 12, 2013
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Plant Defense by VOC-Induced Microbial Priming
Hongwei Liu1, Laura E Brettell1
1Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2753, Australia.
Trends in Plant Science
|February 11, 2019
Summary
Plants use volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to attract beneficial bacteria, enhancing nutrient uptake and stress resistance. This newly identified mechanism supports the plant holobiont
Area of Science:
- Plant Science
- Microbiology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- The plant holobiont, encompassing the plant and its associated microbes, enhances nutrient acquisition and stress tolerance.
- Plants under biotic stress can recruit beneficial rhizosphere bacteria.
- Plant-emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) represent a novel mechanism for this recruitment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in plant-microbe interactions under stress.
- To understand how plants actively recruit beneficial bacteria via VOC emission.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of plant-emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
- Microbial community analysis of the rhizosphere.
- Assessing plant responses to biotic stress.
Main Results:
- Plants actively emit specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under biotic stress.
- These VOCs influence the composition of the rhizosphere microbiome.
- Demonstrated a mechanism for beneficial bacteria recruitment.
Conclusions:
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a key signaling mechanism for plant-microbe interactions.
- Plants can actively shape their rhizosphere microbiome using VOCs for enhanced stress protection.
- This highlights a new dimension of the plant holobiont's function.
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