AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

Plants cannot avoid to be attacked by an almost infinite number of microorganisms and insects. Consequently they armed themselves with molecular weapons against their attackers. Plant defense responses are the result of a complex signaling network, in which the hormones jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA) and ethylene (ET) are the usual suspects under the magnifying glass when researchers investigate host-pest interactions. However, also Green Leaf Volatiles (GLVs), C6 molecules, which are very quickly produced and/or emitted upon herbivory or pathogen infection by almost every green plant play an important role in plant defenses. GLVs are semiochemicals used by insects to find their food, their prey or their conspecifics. They have also been reported to be fundamental in indirect defenses and to have a direct effect on pests, but these are not the only roles of GLVs. These volatiles, being probably one of the fastest weapons exploited, are also able to directly elicit or prime plant defense responses. Moreover GLVs, via crosstalk with phytohormones, mostly JA, can influence the outcome of the plant’s defense response against pathogens. For all these reasons GLVs should be considered as co-protagonists in the play between plant and their attackers.