[Research progress on the synthesis, emission, and ecological functions of floral volatile organic compounds]

Floral volatile organic compounds (FVOCs) are important secondary metabolites in plants, playing important roles in plant growth, development, and reproduction. They serve as core chemical signals for plants to mediate pollinators visitation and essential defensive barriers against environmental stresses. Currently, research on FVOCs has mainly focused on identifying their components, elucidating biosynthetic pathways, and mining key regu-latory genes. We summarized the current research status of FVOC synthesis, emission, and ecological functions, and proposed future research prospects. In terms of biosynthetic metabolism, the biosynthetic pathways and regulatory mechanisms of terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, and benzenoids are relatively well clarified, whereas a systematic understanding of fatty acid derivatives is lacking. Within the regulatory network, the circadian clock system serves as the core endogenous factor regulating the temporal emission of FVOCs, while environmental changes act as the key exogenous factor driving changes in FVOC composition. These two factors jointly shape the composition and emission dynamics of FVOCs through complex synergistic interactions. FVOCs have been demonstrated to play distinct roles in ecological processes, such as mediating pollination and defense responses, yet a systematic understanding of their ecological functions remains inadequate. Future research should focus on the regulatory networks regulating FVOC synthesis and emission under the synergistic effects of multiple factors, as well as the diverse ecological functions of FVOCs. Against the backdrop of global climate change, we should also predict the evolutionary trends of FVOCs and their potential impacts on plant reproductive fitness, so as to provide theoretical support for global ecosystem stability research.