| Abstrakt: |
Plants are stationary organisms, generally restricted to one location for the duration of their growth and development, which is why the need for clear means of information exchange becomes paramount. Above-ground, plants readily emit pungent volatile substances to signal danger of eminent attack to their relatives or to attract the enemy of their enemies. However, most plant communication is occurring below the ground, where plants are secreting compounds from their roots to send messages to neighbouring plants, microbes and insects in the rhizosphere. Although we think of plants as silent and autonomous, they are actually having very complex and specific conversations to communicate with kin, shape their microbiome, and deter invasive plants and pathogens from taking up residence. Rather than blindly fumbling through the soil matrix in hopes of encountering the conditions for ideal growth, plant roots are actively exploring and modulating their surroundings. Root communication is not only critical in terms of an individual plant's success, but it is becoming clear that this activity has consequences to plant populations at the community and ecosystem scale. This article discusses belowground plant communication via root secretion and the resulting ecological significance. |
