Evolutionary changes in an invasive plant support the defensive role of plant volatiles.

ABSTRACT: It is increasingly evident that plants interact with their outside world through the production of volatile organic compounds,^1-5 but whether the volatiles have evolved to serve in plant defense is still a topic of considerable debate.^3,6-8 Unharmed leaves constitutively release small amounts of volatiles, but when the leaves are damaged by herbivorous arthropods, they emit substantially more volatiles. These herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) attract parasitoids and predators that kill insect herbivores,^9-12 and this can benefit the plants.^13,14 As yet, however, there is no tangible evolutionary evidence that this tritrophic interplay contributes to the selection forces that have shaped the vola

SUBMITTER: Lin T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8360764 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature