Abstract
The capability of synthetic pesticides to manage weeds, insect pests and pathogens in crops has diminished due to evolved resistance. Sustainable management is thus becoming more challenging. Novel solutions are needed and, given the ubiquity of biologically active secondary metabolites in nature, such compounds require further exploration as leads for novel crop protection chemistry. Despite improving understanding of allelochemicals, particularly in terms of their potential for use in weed control, their interactions with multiple biotic kingdoms have to date largely been examined in individual compounds and not as a recurrent phenomenon. Here, multi‐kingdom effects in allelochemicals are introduced by defining effects on various organisms, before exploring current understanding of the inducibility and possible ecological roles of these compounds with regard to the evolutionary arms race and dose–response relationships. Allelochemicals with functional benefits in multiple aspects of plant defence are described. Gathering these isolated areas of science under the unified umbrella of multi‐kingdom allelopathy encourages the development of naturally‐derived chemistries conferring defence to multiple discrete biotic stresses simultaneously, maximizing benefits in weed, insect and pathogen control, while potentially circumventing resistance. © 2020 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Highlights
TO THE CONCEPT OFMULTI-KINGDOM ALLELOPATHYAllelopathy is defined in a broad sense as a phenomenon encompassing both the positive and negative effects of plants or microbes on other organisms by means of the chemicals, described as allelochemicals, which these species produce.[1]
The multi-kingdom effects of some allelopathic plant secondary metabolites have long been acknowledged in definitions and discussions of allelopathy,[3,4] in spite of the original definition solely addressing plant–plant interactions.[5]
The prevalence and possible ecological role of phytoallelopathy must first be examined in isolation to provide the basis for the wider phenomenon of multi-kingdom effects
Summary
Allelopathy is defined in a broad sense as a phenomenon encompassing both the positive and negative effects of plants or microbes on other organisms by means of the chemicals, described as allelochemicals, which these species produce.[1]. Other works have documented multiple ecological roles and applications for specific, individual plant-derived secondary metabolites.[7,8,9,10] Works examining multi-kingdom effects in allelopathic compounds remain exceptional, with most literature focusing on the identification of inhibitory effects in novel natural compounds rather than their multi-kingdom functions This affects the scope of their applications for crop protection. There are few consistent terms for allelochemicals which may affect organisms of multiple kingdoms in the existing literature, and those that do exist serve different purposes to satisfy discussion of their individual disciplines Considering such metabolites for multidisciplinary applications first requires clear definitions of these compounds. Fungicide resistance is an issue, occurring in nine modes of action of fungicide by 2015.14 As a result, the recognition of multi-kingdom allelochemicals which could potentially provide benefits against pesticideresistant organisms, and the development of control strategies which utilize these allelochemicals should be considered
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