Soil microbiota enhance the population growth rate of a nitrogen-fixing herbaceous legume.

Soil microbiota can modify a plant's growth and chemistry, with consequences for plant population persistence. Therefore, an approach that considers the entire life cycle of a given plant species may be necessary for quantifying the net effect of soil microbiota on longer-lived plants. Here, we investigated the effects of soil microbiota on the fitness-related traits and population growth rate of the nitrogen-fixing legume .

Extreme Heat Event Alters BVOC Responses to Elevated Ozone: From Physiology to Emission Patterns.

Extreme heat and elevated ozone (O) significantly affect plant growth and secondary metabolism, including biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions. However, the impact of the extreme heat events (EHs) on the O-induced BVOC emissions remains unclear. Here, (an isoprene emitter) and (a monoterpene emitter) were exposed to five O treatments for three months and subjected to a two-week EH.

Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on Volatile-Mediated Insect Ecosystem Services.

Primary and secondary atmospheric pollutants, including carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO), ozone (O), sulphur dioxide (SO) and particulate matter (PM/PM) with associated heavy metals (HMs) and micro- and nanoplastics (MPs/NPs), have the potential to influence and alter interspecific interactions involving insects that are responsible for providing essential ecosystem services (ESs). Given that insects rely on olfactory cues for vital processes such as locating mates, food sources and oviposition sites, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are of paramount importance in interactions involving insects. While gaseous pollutants reduce the lifespan of individual compounds that act as olfactory cues, gaseous and particulate pollutants can alter their biosynthesis and emission and exert a direct effect on the olfactory system of insects.

Global Biases in Ecology and Conservation Research: Insight From Pollinator Studies.

In the fields of ecology and conservation, taxonomic and geographic biases may compromise scientific progress. Using pollinator research as a case study, we evaluate four drivers of these biases and propose solutions to address (i) untested generalisations from highly studied taxa, (ii) information accessibility, (iii) scattered environmental regulations and (iv) restricted infrastructure and funding resources. Expanding the taxonomic, functional and geographic breadth of research and legislation, and involving scientists in policymaking, can generate greater equity, accessibility and impact of future science.

Diesel exhaust and ozone adversely affect pollinators and parasitoids within flying insect communities.

The effects of air pollution on human and animal health, and on the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, are wide-ranging. This potentially includes the disruption of valuable services provided by flying insects (e.g.

Insights from the international workshop on "Adapting agriculture to climate change and air pollution".

An international workshop on "Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change and Air Pollution" took place at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China, during 23-27 October, 2023. Experts working in various multi-disciplinary areas of agroecosystem and environmental research gathered for academic communication and discussions. Two discussion groups focused on "agriculture under air pollution and climate change: current challenges and priorities for the future" and "adapting agriculture to air pollution and climate change: current status and next steps.

Challenges of climate change and air pollution for volatile-mediated plant-parasitoid signalling.

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are reliable cues that parasitoids can use to locate host patches. Interactions mediated by plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are vulnerable to disturbance by predicted climate change and air pollution scenarios. Abiotic stress-induced VOCs may act as false signals to parasitoids.

Effects of Elevated CO and O on Aboveground Brassicaceous Plant-Insect Interactions.

Atmospheric gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO) and ozone (O), influence plant-insect interactions, with variable effects. The few studies that have investigated the direct effects of elevated CO (eCO; 750-900 ppm) or elevated O (eO; 60-200 ppb) on insects have shown mixed results. Instead, most research has focused on the indirect effects through changes in the host plant.

Plant metabolic responses to soil herbicide residues differ under herbivory in two woodland strawberry genotypes.

The use of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) to control weeds has increased exponentially in recent decades, and their residues and degradation products have been found in soils across the globe. GBH residues in soil have been shown to affect plant physiology and specialised metabolite biosynthesis, which, in turn, may impact plant resistance to biotic stressors. In a greenhouse study, we investigated the interactive effects between soil GBH residues and herbivory on the performance, phytohormone concentrations, phenolic compound concentrations and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions of two woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) genotypes, which were classified as herbivore resistant and herbivore susceptible.

Stimulation of insect vectors of pathogens by sublethal environmental contaminants: A hidden threat to human and environmental health?

Sublethal stimulation and hormetic responses are increasingly identified and acknowledged in scientific research. However, the occurrence and characteristics of such responses in insect vectors of pathogens are little explored and poorly understood. Here, we collate significant evidence from the scientific literature showing that sublethal doses of environmental contaminants, such as pesticides, microplastics, and plasticizers, induce stimulation and hormetic responses in insect vectors of pathogens of agricultural and public health importance, including mosquitoes, other dipterans, psyllids, aphids, and planthoppers.

Sublethal chemical stimulation of arthropod parasitoids and parasites of agricultural and environmental importance.

An increasing number of studies have reported stimulation of various organisms in the presence of environmental contaminants. This has created a need to critically evaluate sublethal stimulation and hormetic responses of arthropod parasitoids and parasites following exposure to pesticides and other contaminants. Examining this phenomenon with a focus on arthropods of agricultural and environmental importance serves as the framework for this literature review.

Concurrent anthropogenic air pollutants enhance recruitment of a specialist parasitoid.

Air pollutants-such as nitrogen oxides, emitted in diesel exhaust, and ozone (O)-disrupt interactions between plants, the insect herbivore pests that feed upon them and natural enemies of those herbivores (e.g. parasitoids).

Effect of ozone exposure on the foraging behaviour of Bombus terrestris.

Tropospheric ozone (O) mixing ratios have increased substantially since preindustrial times and high O peaks are increasingly common. Plant-pollinator interactions are central to natural ecosystem functioning and food production systems but could be negatively affected by unfavourable environmental conditions such as elevated O. Ecosystem functioning is threatened by O, which can degrade floral volatile organic compounds (VOCs) used by pollinators as olfactory cues during foraging.

Volatile-mediated between-plant communication in Scots pine and the effects of elevated ozone.

Conifers are dominant tree species in boreal forests, but are susceptible to attack by bark beetles. Upon bark beetle attack, conifers release substantial quantities of volatile organic compounds known as herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs). Earlier studies of broadleaved plants have shown that HIPVs provide information to neighbouring plants, which may enhance their defences.

A potential ozone defense in intercellular air space: Clues from intercellular BVOC concentrations and stomatal conductance.

Ozone (O) enters plants through the stomata, passes into the intercellular air space and is decomposed in cell walls. Two factors that affect the O level in the intercellular air space are the stomatal conductance and the concentration of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). Stomatal conductance controls the O flux into the air space and the intercellular BVOCs react with the O.

Volatile-Mediated Induced and Passively Acquired Resistance in Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata).

Plants produce a diversity of secondary metabolites including volatile organic compounds. Some species show discrete variation in these volatile compounds such that individuals within a population can be grouped into distinct chemotypes. A few studies reported that volatile-mediated induced resistance is more effective between plants belonging to the same chemotype and that chemotypes are heritable.

Amplified Drought and Seasonal Cycle Modulate Leaf Metabolome.

The intensification of summer drought expected with climate change can induce metabolism modifications in plants to face such constraints. In this experiment, we used both a targeted approach focused on flavonoids, as well as an untargeted approach, to study a broader fraction of the leaf metabolome of exposed to amplified drought. A forest site equipped with a rainfall exclusion device allowed reduction of natural rainfall by ~30% over the tree canopy.

Volatile-mediated plant-plant interactions: volatile organic compounds as modulators of receiver plant defence, growth, and reproduction.

It is firmly established that plants respond to biotic and abiotic stimuli by emitting volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs provide information on the physiological status of the emitter plant and are available for detection by the whole community. In the context of plant-plant interactions, research has focused mostly on the defence-related responses of receiver plants.

Risk of herbivory negatively correlates with the diversity of volatile emissions involved in plant communication.

Plant-to-plant volatile-mediated communication and subsequent induced resistance to insect herbivores is common. Less clear is the adaptive significance of these interactions; what selective mechanisms favour plant communication and what conditions allow individuals to benefit by both emitting and responding to cues? We explored the predictions of two non-exclusive hypotheses to explain why plants might emit cues, the kin selection hypothesis (KSH) and the mutual benefit hypothesis (MBH). We examined 15 populations of sagebrush that experience a range of naturally occurring herbivory along a 300 km latitudinal transect.

Exposure to (Z)-11-hexadecenal [(Z)-11-16:Ald] increases Brassica nigra susceptibility to subsequent herbivory.

It is well established that plants emit, detect and respond to volatile organic compounds; however, knowledge on the ability of plants to detect and respond to volatiles emitted by non-plant organisms is limited. Recent studies indicated that plants detect insect-emitted volatiles that induce defence responses; however, the mechanisms underlying this detection and defence priming is unknown. Therefore, we explored if exposure to a main component of Plutella xylostella female sex pheromone namely (Z)-11-hexadecenal [(Z)-11-16:Ald] induced detectable early and late stage defence-related plant responses in Brassica nigra.

Bank vole alarm pheromone chemistry and effects in the field.

Chemical communication plays an important role in mammalian life history decisions. Animals send and receive information based on body odour secretions. Odour cues provide important social information on identity, kinship, sex, group membership or genetic quality.

Diurnal variation in BVOC emission and CO gas exchange from above- and belowground parts of two coniferous species and their responses to elevated O.

Increased tropospheric ozone (O) concentrations in boreal forests affect the emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), which play crucial roles in biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks. Although it has been well documented that BVOC emissions are altered in response to elevated O, consequent effects on the carbon budget have been largely unexplored. Here, we studied the effects of elevated O (80 nmol mol) on diurnal variation of BVOC emissions and gas exchange of CO from above- and belowground parts of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and further investigated effects on the carbon budget.

Ozone affects plant, insect, and soil microbial communities: A threat to terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.

Elevated tropospheric ozone concentrations induce adverse effects in plants. We reviewed how ozone affects (i) the composition and diversity of plant communities by affecting key physiological traits; (ii) foliar chemistry and the emission of volatiles, thereby affecting plant-plant competition, plant-insect interactions, and the composition of insect communities; and (iii) plant-soil-microbe interactions and the composition of soil communities by disrupting plant litterfall and altering root exudation, soil enzymatic activities, decomposition, and nutrient cycling. The community composition of soil microbes is consequently changed, and alpha diversity is often reduced.

The phytotoxic air-pollutant O enhances the emission of herbivore-induced volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and affects the susceptibility of black mustard plants to pest attack.

Stress-induced changes to plant biochemistry and physiology can influence plant nutritional quality and subsequent interactions with herbivorous pests. However, the effects of stress combinations are unpredictable and differ to the effects of individual stressors. Here we studied the effects of exposure to the phytotoxic air-pollutant ozone (O), feeding by larvae of the large cabbage white butterfly (Pieris brassicae), and a combination of the two stresses, on the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by black mustard plants (Brassica nigra) under field and laboratory conditions.