Cerimi Kustrim, Pöther Dierk-Christoph, Klar Stefanie
Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Unit 4.II.2 Bioaerosols, Nöldnerstraße 40-42, Berlin, 10317, Germany.
Fungal Biol Biotechnol. 2025 Jul 2;12(1):12. doi: 10.1186/s40694-025-00203-x.
Fungal volatile organic compounds (fVOCs) serve as crucial mediators in ecological interactions and hold significant potential for applications in agriculture and biotechnology. Fungi establish inter-organism communication through volatile molecules, enabling them to regulate plant growth and interact with diverse soil-dwelling organisms. This study integrates a comprehensive literature survey and bibliometric analysis to capture the complexity and interdisciplinary nature of fVOC research, drawing on PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases spanning 2000 to 2023.
The findings highlight the role of fVOCs as essential chemical messengers in inter-organismic communication, their contribution to sustainable agricultural practices as plant growth promoters, and their significance in human sensory perception, particularly in culinary contexts. Our bibliometric analysis of 3,738 publications maps fVOC research trends worldwide using co-occurrence and -citation analyses. The latter uncovered an early research focus on yeast fermentation and antimicrobial activity, which has since expanded to sustainable agriculture, biofumigation, endophytic fungi, and the development of advanced analytical techniques. Emerging research clusters focus on plant-fungus communication, the biotechnological production of aroma compounds, and the influence of fVOCs on human sensory experiences.
The fVOC research field has matured during the last two decades. Promising avenues for future exploration include the improvement of crop resilience, the advancements of eco-friendly technologies, such as biological pest management or VOC-driven fertilisation, and a better understanding of the intricate volatile communication that drives fungal interactions with other kingdoms of life.
真菌挥发性有机化合物（fVOCs）是生态相互作用中的关键介质，在农业和生物技术领域具有巨大的应用潜力。真菌通过挥发性分子建立生物体间的通讯，从而能够调节植物生长并与多种土壤生物相互作用。本研究综合了全面的文献调查和文献计量分析，以捕捉fVOC研究的复杂性和跨学科性质，所依据的是2000年至2023年期间的PubMed、谷歌学术和Scopus数据库。
研究结果突出了fVOCs作为生物体间通讯中重要化学信使的作用，它们作为植物生长促进剂对可持续农业实践的贡献，以及在人类感官认知中的重要性，尤其是在烹饪方面。我们对3738篇出版物的文献计量分析通过共现分析和共引分析绘制了全球fVOC研究趋势图。后者揭示了早期对酵母发酵和抗菌活性的研究重点，此后已扩展到可持续农业、生物熏蒸、内生真菌以及先进分析技术的开发。新兴的研究集群聚焦于植物 - 真菌通讯、香气化合物的生物技术生产以及fVOCs对人类感官体验的影响。
fVOC研究领域在过去二十年中已经成熟。未来有前景的探索途径包括提高作物抗性、推进生态友好型技术，如生物虫害管理或挥发性有机化合物驱动施肥，以及更好地理解驱动真菌与其他生物界相互作用的复杂挥发性通讯。
