Understanding the chemical language mediating maize immunity and environmental adaptation

Diverse networks of specialized metabolites promote plant fitness by mediating beneficial and antagonistic environmental interactions. In maize (Zea mays), constitutive and dynamically formed cocktails of terpenoids, benzoxazinoids, oxylipins, and phenylpropanoids contribute to plant defense and ecological adaptation. Recent research has highlighted the multifunctional nature of many specialized metabolites, serving not only as elaborate chemical defenses that safeguard against biotic and abiotic stress but also as regulators in adaptive developmental processes and microbiome interactions. Great strides have also been made in identifying the modular pathway networks that drive maize chemical diversity. Translating this knowledge into strategies for enhancing stress resilience traits has the potential to address climate-driven yield losses in one of the world's major food, feed, and bioenergy crops.