Volatile communication in plants relies on a KAI2-mediated signaling pathway. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38513014/)

These scientists wanted to understand how plants communicate with each other using scents. They studied a specific type of scent called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that plants release when they talk to each other, signal to themselves, or interact with microbes. They focused on a type of scent called volatile terpenoids that act like hormones and help in the development of plant reproductive organs.

To study this, the scientists looked at a receptor in petunia plants called PhKAI2ia, which can sense a specific scent called (-)-germacrene D. When this receptor detects the scent, it starts a chain reaction inside the plant that affects how well the plant can grow and reproduce. This study showed that this receptor plays an important role in how plants talk to each other using scents.

By understanding how plants use scents to communicate, these scientists discovered new information about how plants smell things and how they exchange information. This study helps us learn more about how plants interact with each other and how they can sense different scents in their environment.

Stirling SA., Guercio AM., Patrick RM., Huang XQ., Bergman ME., Dwivedi V., Kortbeek RWJ., Liu YK., Sun F., Tao WA., Li Y., Boachon B., Shabek N., Dudareva N. Volatile communication in plants relies on a KAI2-mediated signaling pathway. Science. 2024 Mar 22;383(6689):1318-1325. doi: 10.1126/science.adl4685. Epub 2024 Mar 21.