In the intricate tapestry of plant life, communication is far more sophisticated than previously imagined. Recent groundbreaking research has unveiled a remarkable mechanism by which plants not only defend themselves but also influence their surrounding soil environment and neighboring flora through volatile chemical signals. This study elegantly bridges two dynamic phenomena—volatile organic compounds released by leaves under herbivore attack and the resulting plant-soil feedback mechanisms—that until now were largely studied in isolation. The research, led by Hu et al., offers a compelling narrative on how green leaf volatiles orchestrate a cascade of biochemical defenses interwoven with beneficial interactions beneath the soil surface, reshaping our understanding of plant defense ecology and sustainable agriculture.
Plants under attack by herbivores engage a complex chemical language, releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that serve as warnings to nearby plants. These leaf volatiles have long been known to prime defenses in neighboring plants, signaling impending threats and activating early defense mechanisms. However, this new study dives deeper, demonstrating that the influence of these volatiles transcends aboveground interactions, triggering systemic responses that extend into the rhizosphere—the critical zone of soil influenced by roots. This dual-layered interaction unveils a holistic system where atmospheric chemical signaling intricately links with subterranean microbial communities.
At the core of this phenomenon are green leaf volatiles (GLVs), a specific class of VOCs emitted rapidly after herbivory damage. These compounds, which include C6 aldehydes and alcohols, act as potent elicitors of jasmonate-dependent signaling pathways in plants that receive these airborne cues. Jasmonates are pivotal lipid-based hormones that regulate plant defense responses and growth. The researchers meticulously demonstrated that exposure to herbivory-induced GLVs activates jasmonate signaling in receiver plants—an activation crucial for the subsequent establishment of advantageous plant-soil feedbacks.
This jasmonate-dependent signaling orchestrated by GLVs induces systemic defense responses that reach beyond the foliage to alter root exudation profiles. These exudates, composed of sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and secondary metabolites, serve as nutritional and signaling substrates that sculpt the microbial constituency of the rhizosphere. Fascinatingly, the study reveals that plants exposed to GLVs selectively enrich populations of beneficial soil bacteria in their root zones, bacteria that promote plant growth and bolster resistance against herbivores. This recruitment of a favorable microbiome marks a vital link connecting aboveground plant signaling to belowground microbial dynamics.
To unravel the molecular basis of this intricate cross-talk, Hu et al. identified a maize-specific cysteine-rich receptor-like protein kinase named ZmCRK25. This receptor is pivotal for perceiving GLV-induced signals and initiating jasmonate-mediated systemic defense responses that ultimately modify root microbial communities. Mutant maize lines deficient in ZmCRK25 failed to exhibit the enhanced plant-soil feedback effects triggered by GLVs, underscoring the receptor’s essential role. This discovery underscores the genetic and molecular sophistication plants employ to translate volatile cues into systemic physiological changes and microbiome recruitment.
The research team extended their findings from controlled laboratory conditions to field environments, performing four successive years of field experiments in maize crops. These rigorous trials validated that volatile-induced plant-soil feedbacks have substantial agronomic implications. By propagating GLV signaling in the field, plants exhibited reduced leaf herbivore loads and enjoyed improved growth parameters and yields across different maize varieties. This replicability under natural conditions highlights the robustness and ecological relevance of the phenomenon.
Not only does this volatile-mediated system offer plants a multi-tiered defense strategy against herbivores, but it also fosters a synergistic enhancement of growth and yield, emphasizing the sophisticated resource allocation and adaptability embedded in plant physiology. In broader terms, the findings illustrate a natural mechanism whereby plants can proactively recruit beneficial soil microbes through airborne chemical signals, integrating defense signaling pathways with microbial ecology.
The ecological ramifications of this research are profound. It challenges the traditional dichotomy of above- and belowground plant interactions by revealing a seamless continuum mediated by volatile cues and rhizosphere dynamics. This insight opens new avenues for exploring plant community ecology, interspecific interactions, and the evolutionary pressures that might have shaped these communication networks across diverse plant lineages.
Moreover, the discovery has promising implications for sustainable agriculture. Harnessing the natural ability of plants to enhance growth and defense through induced plant-soil feedbacks mediated by green leaf volatiles can reduce reliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers. By exploiting this innate biological system, crop management strategies could integrate targeted stimulation of volatile signaling and beneficial microbiome recruitment to naturally fortify crops against pests, improve resilience, and enhance productivity.
This innovative approach dovetails with burgeoning interest in plant microbiome engineering and ecological intensification of agriculture. Future development of agronomic practices might include elicitor application strategies to induce GLV release or breeding programs aimed at enhancing receptor sensitivity, such as ZmCRK25-like proteins, to foster more robust plant-soil interactions.
Importantly, the study’s revelation that multiple plant species, not just maize, respond similarly to GLV-mediated signals suggests that this is a broadly conserved mechanism across plant taxa. This universality accentuates the potential of volatile communication as a widespread ecological phenomenon influencing ecosystem functioning and productivity at larger scales.
The mechanistic insights also raise intriguing questions about the complexity of signaling networks plants employ to integrate external volatile cues with internal hormonal systems and microbial recruitment. Understanding how these networks interact with other signaling pathways—such as salicylate or ethylene signaling—may further elucidate how plants finely tune their responses to fluctuating biotic stresses and environmental conditions.
Within the realm of plant-herbivore and plant-microbe interactions, these findings set a new benchmark for interdisciplinary inquiry, uniting molecular biology, chemical ecology, microbiology, and agronomy. The integration of multi-omics approaches, including transcriptomics, metabolomics, and microbial community profiling used in this study, exemplifies the power of contemporary methodologies to decode complex biological systems.
In essence, this pioneering research casts light on a sophisticated communication network that empowers plants to sense belowground and aboveground threats and respond by dynamically shaping their microbial allies. It reframes our conceptual framework of plant interaction ecology and opens fertile ground for innovation in crop protection and soil health management.
As anthropogenic pressures and climate challenges intensify, unlocking and leveraging natural plant defense and growth mechanisms like GLV-triggered jasmonate signaling and plant-soil feedbacks could be pivotal in ensuring global food security. This study not only enriches fundamental botanical knowledge but also offers a hopeful pathway to more resilient, productive, and sustainable agroecosystems.
By demonstrating the latent power of volatile signals to orchestrate belowground microbiome shifts and systemic plant protection, Hu and colleagues have illuminated a vital aspect of plant biology that was, until now, hidden in plain sight. Their work champions the idea that the air around plants carries messages of survival and cooperation, messages that echo beneath the soil and germinate into growth and defense, strengthening the natural world in profound and unexpected ways.
Subject of Research: Plant communication via green leaf volatiles and jasmonate-dependent plant-soil feedbacks
Article Title: Herbivory-induced green leaf volatiles increase plant performance through jasmonate-dependent plant–soil feedbacks
Article References:
Hu, L., Zhang, K., Xu, Y. et al. Herbivory-induced green leaf volatiles increase plant performance through jasmonate-dependent plant–soil feedbacks. Nat. Plants (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-01987-x
Image Credits: AI Generated
