Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jun 15;13(6):997.
doi: 10.3390/biom13060997.

Deciphering Plant-Insect-Microorganism Signals for Sustainable Crop Production

Gareth Thomas  1 , Quint Rusman  2 , William R Morrison 3rd  3 , Diego M Magalhães  4 , Jordan A Dowell  5 , Esther Ngumbi  6 , Jonathan Osei-Owusu  7 , Jessica Kansman  8 , Alexander Gaffke  9 , Kamala Jayanthi Pagadala Damodaram  10 , Seong Jong Kim  11 , Nurhayat Tabanca  12
Affiliations
Review

Deciphering Plant-Insect-Microorganism Signals for Sustainable Crop Production

Gareth Thomas et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

Agricultural crop productivity relies on the application of chemical pesticides to reduce pest and pathogen damage. However, chemical pesticides also pose a range of ecological, environmental and economic penalties. This includes the development of pesticide resistance by insect pests and pathogens, rendering pesticides less effective. Alternative sustainable crop protection tools should therefore be considered. Semiochemicals are signalling molecules produced by organisms, including plants, microbes, and animals, which cause behavioural or developmental changes in receiving organisms. Manipulating semiochemicals could provide a more sustainable approach to the management of insect pests and pathogens across crops. Here, we review the role of semiochemicals in the interaction between plants, insects and microbes, including examples of how they have been applied to agricultural systems. We highlight future research priorities to be considered for semiochemicals to be credible alternatives to the application of chemical pesticides.

Keywords: biocontrol; chemical ecology; insects; kairomones; microbes; pheromones; plants; semiochemicals; volatile organic compounds.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of the semiochemical interactions between plants, insects and microbes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Semiochemical interactions between plant-associated insects and microbes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The role of semiochemicals in push-pull systems.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Savary S., Willocquet L., Pethybridge S.J., Esker P., McRoberts N., Nelson A. The Global Burden of Pathogens and Pests on Major Food Crops. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 2019;3:430–439. doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0793-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Osei-Owusu J., Vuts J., Caulfield J.C., Woodcock C.M., Withall D.M., Hooper A.M., Osafo-Acquaah S., Birkett M.A. Identification of Semiochemicals from Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata, for Low-Input Management of the Legume Pod Borer, Maruca vitrata. J. Chem. Ecol. 2020;46:288–298. doi: 10.1007/s10886-020-01149-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Skendžić S., Zovko M., Živković I.P., Lešić V., Lemić D. The Impact of Climate Change on Agricultural Insect Pests. Insects. 2021;12:440. doi: 10.3390/insects12050440. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Raza M.M., Bebber D.P. Climate Change and Plant Pathogens. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 2022;70:102233. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2022.102233. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Delgado-Baquerizo M., Guerra C.A., Cano-Díaz C., Egidi E., Wang J.-T., Eisenhauer N., Singh B.K., Maestre F.T. The Proportion of Soil-Borne Pathogens Increases with Warming at the Global Scale. Nat. Clim. Chang. 2020;10:550–554. doi: 10.1038/s41558-020-0759-3. - DOI

Publication types