Abstract
The interactions of plants with environment and insects are bi-directional and dynamic. Consequently, a myriad of mechanisms has evolved to engage organisms in different types of interactions. These interactions can be mediated by allelochemicals known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which include volatile terpenes (VTs). The emission of VTs provides a way for plants to communicate with the environment, including neighboring plants, beneficiaries (e.g., pollinators, seed dispersers), predators, parasitoids, and herbivores, by sending enticing or deterring signals. Understanding terpenoid distribution, biogenesis, and function provides an opportunity for the design and implementation of effective and efficient environmental calamity and pest management strategies. This review provides an overview of plant–environment and plant–insect interactions in the context of terpenes and terpenoids as important chemical mediators of these abiotic and biotic interactions.
Highlights
Plant secondary metabolites involved in environmental adaptation and stress tolerance can be broadly classified into phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenoids
To clear out any ambiguity, terpenes are simple hydrocarbons based on combinations of dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) and ID, while terpenoids are terpenes with an oxygen moiety and additional structural rearrangements
The central component of the salt overly sensitive (SOS) pathway SnRK2 subfamily participates in the terpene phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway that leads to the activation of transcription factors (TFs) and of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade [11,12,13]
Summary
Plant secondary metabolites involved in environmental adaptation and stress tolerance can be broadly classified into phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenoids Among these classes of compounds, terpenoids are the most diverse, with significant properties in the context of chemical ecology [1]. This further suggests that substrate preference and terpene product profiles may vary in response to fluctuations in the environment [7] Functional decoration of these core scaffolds by cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450) augments the already-existing chemical diversity through oxygenation and further structural rearrangements, resulting in an estimated 80,000 distinct compounds [8,9]
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