Chemical similarity, not evolutionary relatedness, shapes interspecific VOC communication and defense priming (IMAGE)
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The focal emitter plant (Phytolacca americana) releases both constitutive (CPVs) and herbivore‑induced (HIPVs) volatiles. In a multi‑species system, a neighboring receiver plant perceives these volatile cues. This perception typically does not induce strong direct defense induction; instead, it primes the receiver for future attack. When herbivore attack subsequently occurs, the primed plant mounts a faster and stronger defense response, resulting in enhanced resistance across diverse receiver species. This primed state is accompanied by the upregulation of Ca²⁺ signaling genes (CML). Importantly, the effectiveness of this entire process is determined more by chemical distance among species than by phylogenetic distance. The receiver plants including: Pame: Phytolacca americana, Paci: P. acinosa, Rjap: Reynoutria japonica, Snig: Solanum nigrum, Ntab: Nicotiana tabacum, Hann: Helianthus annuus, Ahyp: Arachis hypogaea, Sbic: Sorghum bicolor, Zmay: Zea mays.
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