Chemical cues in the form of elicitors, effectors, semio-chemicals, and allelochemicals, orchestrate fundamental inter- and intra-species communication in most naturally occurring ecosystems as well as agroecosystems. Plants, arthropods, microbes, and nematodes locate their food and conspecifics, and are able to detect the threat of predation using such chemical cues. Chemical communication between two interacting species in an ecosystem may have a cascading effect on several trophic levels. Chemicals in insect secretions such as saliva, regurgitant, and oviposition fluids, as well as chemicals in insect excretion, may alter plant chemistry. In turn, this may facilitate or reduce the performance of secondary group herbivores on the plant, attract or repel predators of the herbivore, etc. Microbes in insect secretions are known to alter insect chemical cues that alter such plant defensive chemistry. Symbiotic interaction of plants with microbes such as arbuscular mycorrhizal association of plant roots can change plant chemistry. Chemotaxis and chemical communication are vital in belowground interactions governing the symbiotic association of plants and microbes, attraction/repellence of root herbivores, pathogens, and predators.
Environmental factors, especially in the wake of global climate change, are bound to play a critical role in the chemical communication that governs interactions among species. For example, warmer air and water may alter the stability of chemical cues being transmitted by organisms for communication. Changes in soil moisture content due to extended periods of drought or flooding may dramatically change how organisms release and perceive chemical cues belowground as well. Drastic changes in the environment such as the formation of geographical barriers may result in the isolation of populations, leading to the disruption of mating, loss of resources for food, and the alteration of predator-prey interactions. As such, understanding the significance of environmental factors on species interaction through the lens of chemical cues is paramount towards our future efforts of conserving our natural ecosystems and making our agroecosystems sustainable.
For this Research Topic, we encourage submissions that address climate change and its effects on the chemical ecology of plant-arthropod-microbe interactions, omics-driven characterizations of plant responses to environmental change with relevance to biotic interactions, as well as the ecology and evolution of chemical cues in all ecosystems in relation to environmental factors. We welcome original research, reviews, and opinions that broaden our understanding of the effect of environmental change on the chemical ecology of species interaction.
Chemical cues in the form of elicitors, effectors, semio-chemicals, and allelochemicals, orchestrate fundamental inter- and intra-species communication in most naturally occurring ecosystems as well as agroecosystems. Plants, arthropods, microbes, and nematodes locate their food and conspecifics, and are able to detect the threat of predation using such chemical cues. Chemical communication between two interacting species in an ecosystem may have a cascading effect on several trophic levels. Chemicals in insect secretions such as saliva, regurgitant, and oviposition fluids, as well as chemicals in insect excretion, may alter plant chemistry. In turn, this may facilitate or reduce the performance of secondary group herbivores on the plant, attract or repel predators of the herbivore, etc. Microbes in insect secretions are known to alter insect chemical cues that alter such plant defensive chemistry. Symbiotic interaction of plants with microbes such as arbuscular mycorrhizal association of plant roots can change plant chemistry. Chemotaxis and chemical communication are vital in belowground interactions governing the symbiotic association of plants and microbes, attraction/repellence of root herbivores, pathogens, and predators.
Environmental factors, especially in the wake of global climate change, are bound to play a critical role in the chemical communication that governs interactions among species. For example, warmer air and water may alter the stability of chemical cues being transmitted by organisms for communication. Changes in soil moisture content due to extended periods of drought or flooding may dramatically change how organisms release and perceive chemical cues belowground as well. Drastic changes in the environment such as the formation of geographical barriers may result in the isolation of populations, leading to the disruption of mating, loss of resources for food, and the alteration of predator-prey interactions. As such, understanding the significance of environmental factors on species interaction through the lens of chemical cues is paramount towards our future efforts of conserving our natural ecosystems and making our agroecosystems sustainable.
For this Research Topic, we encourage submissions that address climate change and its effects on the chemical ecology of plant-arthropod-microbe interactions, omics-driven characterizations of plant responses to environmental change with relevance to biotic interactions, as well as the ecology and evolution of chemical cues in all ecosystems in relation to environmental factors. We welcome original research, reviews, and opinions that broaden our understanding of the effect of environmental change on the chemical ecology of species interaction.
