Volume 20, Issue 4, April 2015, Pages 206–211
Opinion
Bioprospecting bacterial and fungal volatiles for sustainable agriculture
- doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2015.01.004
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Highlights
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- MVOCs exert significant effects on microbes and plants.
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- MVOCs are produced both below and above ground and interfere with the rhizosphere and the atmosphere.
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- We propose that MVOCs can be exploited as an ecofriendly and sustainable strategy for agricultural practices.
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- MVOCs could replace the need for genetic modification, harmful pesticides, fungicides, and bactericides.
Current
agricultural practice depends on a wide use of pesticides,
bactericides, and fungicides. Increased demand for organic products
indicates consumer preference for reduced chemical use. Therefore, there
is a need to develop novel sustainable strategies for crop protection
and enhancement that do not rely on genetic modification and/or harmful
chemicals. An increasing body of evidence indicates that bacterial and
fungal microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) might provide an
alternative to the use of chemicals to protect plants from pathogens and
provide a setting for better crop welfare. It is well known that MVOCs
can modulate the physiology of plants and microorganisms and in this
Opinion we propose that MVOCs can be exploited as an ecofriendly,
cost-effective, and sustainable strategy for agricultural practices.
Keywords
- microbial volatile organic compounds;
- sustainable agriculture;
- plant growth promotion;
- plant protection;
- plant–microbe interactions
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
