Classic theory relates herbivore pressure to the ecology and evolution of plant defenses.
Here, we summarize current trends in the study of plant–herbivore interactions and how they …

From the perspectives of pathway evolution, discovery and engineering of plant specialized
metabolism, the nature of the biosynthetic routes represents a critical aspect. Classical …

Root traits including root exudates are key factors affecting plant interactions with soil and
thus play an important role in determining ecosystem processes. The drivers of their …

Research on the ecological and evolutionary roles of phytochemicals has recently
progressed from studying single compounds to examining chemical diversity itself. A key …

A major aim of ecology is to upscale attributes of individuals to understand processes at
population, community and ecosystem scales. Such attributes are typically described using …

Metabolomics provides an unprecedented window into diverse plant secondary metabolites
that represent a potentially critical niche dimension in tropical forests underlying species …

The role of natural selection in the evolution of trait complexity can be characterized by
testing hypothesized links between complex forms and their functions across species …

The production of complex mixtures of secondary metabolites is a ubiquitous feature of
plants. Several evolutionary hypotheses seek to explain how phytochemical diversity is …

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) play important roles at cellular, foliar,
ecosystem and atmospheric levels. The Amazonian rainforest represents one of the major …

Plants are widely recognized as chemical factories, with each species producing dozens to
hundreds of unique secondary metabolites. These compounds shape the interactions …