Giddings Vassão, D.

Kato, M.

Massad, T.

Stanton, M.

Yamaguchi, L.

English

MPG.PuRe

EDITORIALpublished: 30 July 2019doi: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00967Frontiers in Plant Science | www.frontiersin.org 1 July 2019 | Volume 10 | Article 967Edited and reviewed by:Kazuki Saito,RIKEN Center for SustainableResource Science (CSRS), Japan*Correspondence:Massuo J. Katomajokato@iq.usp.brTara J. Massadtmassad77@gmail.comMariana A. Stantonmariana.a.stanton@gmail.comDaniel G. Vassãovassao@ice.mpg.deLydia F. Yamaguchilydyama@gmail.comSpecialty section:This article was submitted toPlant Metabolism and Chemodiversity,a section of the journalFrontiers in Plant ScienceReceived: 08 June 2019Accepted: 10 July 2019Published: 30 July 2019Citation:Kato MJ, Massad TJ, Stanton MA,Vassão DG and Yamaguchi LF (2019)Editorial: The Ecology of PlantChemistry and How it DrivesMulti-Species Interactions.Front. Plant Sci. 10:967.doi: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00967Editorial: The Ecology of PlantChemistry and How it DrivesMulti-Species InteractionsMassuo J. Kato 1*, Tara J. Massad 2*, Mariana A. Stanton 1*, Daniel G. Vassão 3* andLydia F. Yamaguchi 1*1Department of Fundamental Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 2University ofMemphis, Memphis, TN, United States, 3Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology,Jena, GermanyKeywords: chemical ecology, plant secondary metabolites, plant volatiles, pollination, structure activity analysis,multi-trophic interactions, biodiversity, specificityEditorial on the Research TopicThe Ecology of Plant Chemistry and How it Drives Multi-Species InteractionsIn this Research Topic issue, we are pleased to present a diverse collection of papers illustrating theimportance of chemical ecology for our understanding of ecosystem functioning in both naturaland agricultural settings. The field of chemical ecology is quickly advancing as new tools in chemicalanalyses and molecular biology allow us to better appreciate the degree to which plant chemistryinfluences interspecific interactions. The papers presented here are an excellent representationof the application of these techniques and demonstrate how plant chemistry shapes interspecificinteractions across different scales.Several papers in this issue represent a field experiencing exciting developments—research onthe biochemical mechanisms of the action of defense compounds and their fates within herbivores.Chemical structure is critical to the function of secondary metabolites, even within broadlydefined groups of compounds. Monarch butterflies, for example, are shown in fascinating workby Petschenka et al. to have Na+/K+-ATPases with broader and overall higher resistance to asuite of cardenolides compared to the enzymes of less specialized herbivores, but the biologicaleffects of cardenolides from Asclepias host-plants do not simply reflect their inhibitory activitieson monarch enzymes in vitro. The effects of different side-chain structures within another classof chemical defenses, glucosinolates, were studied by Jeschke et al. The authors used isotopesto demonstrate that specialist herbivores avoid proper activation of these defenses, while thesesame compounds were fully activated in generalist herbivores and differentially inhibited theirdevelopment. Vassão et al. further show that plant glycosidases, including some responsible forthe activation of glucosinolates and of a diversity of other plant defenses from a wide variety ofspecies, remain undigested by generalist insects, indicating strong selective pressures on plants topromote the continuous activation of their defense compounds.A mechanistic understanding of plant defense and of the specificity with which plants respondto different herbivores was addressed by Schuman et al. The authors used transgenic linesof Nicotiana attenuata with reduced production of jasmonoyl isoleucine, a jasmonic acid (JA)derivative that regulates many plant responses to herbivory, to test the specificity of plantresistance mechanisms. Elicitation by JA and its derivatives allows for plasticity in direct andindirect responses of plants to damage, as indicated by metabolomic analyses of volatiles andwater-soluble compounds from experimentally treated plants. Moreover, a meta-analysis inthis issue (Mundim and Pringle) examines above- and belowground changes in primary andsecondarymetabolites in response to water stress and herbivory, addressing long-debated questionsKato et al. Plant Chemistry and Species Interactionsabout growth-defense trade-offs with the fine-grained detailoffered by metabolomics. They further suggest more realisticstudies of the effects of multiple, co-occurring stressors on plantsare needed.Plant volatiles are deservedly highlighted in this issue,reflecting their considerable interest to chemical ecology as wecontinue to learn about the roles they play as the first line ofcommunication between plants and insects. Borges discussesresearch on volatiles and galling insects, stressing that the topic isunderstudied and requires further attention. New discoveries inpollination biology are brought to light byWong et al. andWonget al. whose careful study of orchid mimicry of female thynninewasp sex pheromones demonstrates how developmental andtissue-specific transcriptional changes in orchid flowers alloworchids to successfully lure male pollinators to their flowers atjust the right time. Suggestions for studies on the evolutionand biochemical production of orchid scents used in deceptivepollination that can be applied to other non-model organismsare also presented by Wong et al. In addition, a study describingguarana flower pollination by Krug et al. shows that nocturnalbees are attracted by volatile blends that differ in compositionfrom those released during the day.At a larger scale, our understanding of tropical diversity isincreasingly improved by chemical ecology, and some excellentpapers in this issue demonstrate the importance of plant chemicaldiversity for tropical forest diversity. Vleminckx et al. showthat secondary metabolites are less similar than expected bychance in co-occurring congeners, suggesting herbivory selectsfor chemical diversity. Endara et al. further show that a phylogenyof specialist sawflies matches plant chemotypes more closelythan host plant phylogeny. The response of the third trophiclevel to chemical diversity was analyzed by Slinn et al. Theseauthors used an invaluable 19-year-long database to determinethat phytochemical diversity affects larval immunity againstparasitoids in specialist but not generalist herbivores. Thisresult differed between two tropical forests, however, and theauthors open the door to further questions about the scale ofthese patterns and how the degree of herbivore specializationaffects them.Several of the articles in this edition highlight the valueof considering chemically mediated interactions in appliedarenas and indicate directions for future research that examineschemical ecology and tri-trophic interactions in complexagroecosystems. Addressing applications of chemical ecologyto agriculture from the bottom-up, Blubaugh et al. reportthat rhizobium-inducing soil bacteria affect aphid growthand parasitism, underscoring the complexity of chemically-mediated trophic interactions. Furlong et al. and Silva et al.both discuss the role plant volatiles could play in improvingagriculture. Silva et al. note that volatiles should receive moreattention in studies targeting pollination and biocontrol, whileFurlong et al. suggest that the failure to successfully translatelaboratory tests of volatiles that attract parasitoids to field-levelapplications for improved biocontrol is due to the complexityof these interactions and the ability of parasitoids to discernbetween reliable and unreliable signals. Lastly, herbivore host-use is analyzed by Gallinger and Gross who show that psyllidagricultural pests that host-switch during their life cycle fromfruit crops to pines are able to feed on but not complete theirdevelopment on pines due to their phytochemistry.We are excited to share this representative selection offascinating work in the growing body of research linkingplant chemistry to the ecology and evolution of multi-trophic interactions.We hope you will enjoy these articles and that they will inspirefurther advances in the study of chemical ecology.AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONSMK coordinated the editing for the Research Topic, contributedto the proposal of the Research Topic subject, and editedmanuscripts. TM, DV, MS, and LY contributed to the proposalof the Research Topic subject and edited manuscripts.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe authors acknowledge the financial support provided fromFAPESP (2014/50316-7; 2015/26823-9) and CNPq to MK, MS,and LY, Organization for Tropical Studies and Gorongosa Projectto TM, and Max Planck Gesellschaft to DV.Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors declare that the research wasconducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that couldbe construed as a potential conflict of interest.Copyright © 2019 Kato, Massad, Stanton, Vassão and Yamaguchi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionLicense (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted,provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that theoriginal publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academicpractice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not complywith these terms.Frontiers in Plant Science | www.frontiersin.org 2 July 2019 | Volume 10 | Article 967

Editorial: The ecology of plant chemistry and how it drives multi-species interactions

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Editorial: The ecology of plant chemistry and how it drives multi-species interactions

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