Meredith C Schuman
Departments of Geography and Chemistry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; email:
Annu Rev Plant Biol. 2023 May 22;74:609-633. doi: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-040121-114908. Epub 2023 Mar 8.
Plant volatiles comprise thousands of molecules from multiple metabolic pathways, distinguished by sufficient vapor pressure to evaporate into the headspace under normal environmental conditions. Many are implicated as ecological signals, but what is the evidence-and how do they work? Volatiles diffuse, are carried by wind, and may be taken up by other organisms or degrade with exposure to atmospheric ozone, radicals, and UV light; visual signals such as color are not subject to these complications (but require a line of sight). Distantly related plants-and nonplants-produce many of the same volatiles, yet specific compounds and blends may be distinct. Here, I present a quantitative review of the literature on plant volatiles as ecological signals, illustrating a field that has focused on developing ideas as much as reporting primary data. I discuss advantages and constraints, review recent advances, and propose considerations for primary studies to elucidate particular functions of plant volatiles.
植物挥发物由多种代谢途径产生的数千种分子组成，其蒸汽压足以在正常环境条件下蒸发到头顶空间。许多被认为是生态信号，但有什么证据——它们是如何工作的？挥发物扩散，被风携带，可能被其他生物体吸收，或随着暴露于大气臭氧、自由基和紫外线而降解；视觉信号如颜色不受这些复杂因素的影响（但需要视线）。亲缘关系较远的植物和非植物也会产生许多相同的挥发物，但特定的化合物和混合物可能是不同的。在这里，我对植物挥发物作为生态信号的文献进行了定量综述，说明了一个主要侧重于发展思想而不是报告原始数据的领域。我讨论了优势和限制，回顾了最近的进展，并为阐明植物挥发物特定功能的原始研究提出了考虑因素。
