The Ecology of Plant Secondary Metabolites From Genes to Global Processes

Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) such as terpenes and phenolic compounds are known to have numerous ecological roles, notably in defence against herbivores, pathogens and abiotic stresses and in interactions with competitors and mutualists. This book reviews recent developments in the field to provide a synthesis of the function, ecology and evolution of PSMs, revealing our increased awareness of their integrative role in connecting natural systems. It emphasises the multiple roles of secondary metabolites in mediating the interactions between organisms and their environment at a range of scales of ecological organisation, demonstrating how genes encoding for PSM biosynthetic enzymes can have effects from the cellular scale within individual plants all the way to global environmental processes. A range of recent methodological advances, including molecular, transgenic and metabolomic techniques, are illustrated and promising directions for future studies are identified, making this a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in the field.

Preface; 1. The integrative roles of plant secondary metabolites in natural systems: a synthesis Glenn R. Iason, Marcel Dicke and Susan E. Hartley; 2. Natural selection for anti-herbivore plant secondary metabolites: a Eucalyptus system Julianne M. O'Reilly-Wapstra, Clare McArthur and Brad M. Potts; 3. Temporal changes in plant secondary metabolite production: patterns, causes and consequences Julia Koricheva and Kasey E. Barton; 4. Mixtures in plant chemical defence: metabolic origins and ecological benefits Jonathan Gershenzon, Anna Fontana, Meike Burow, Ute Wittstock and Joerg Degenhardt; 5. The herbivore's prescription: a pharm-ecological perspective on host plant use by vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores Jennifer S. Forbey and Mark D. Hunter; 6. Volatile isoprenoids and abiotic stresses Francesca Bagnoli, Silvia Fineschi and Francesco Loreto; 7. Atmospheric change, plant secondary metabolites, and ecological interactions Richard L. Lindroth; 8. The role of plant secondary metabolites in freshwater macrophyte-herbivore interactions: limited or unexplored chemical defences? Elisabeth M. Gross and Elisabeth S. Bakker; 9. The soil microbial community and plant foliar defences against insects Alan C. Gange, René Eschen and Viviane Schroeder; 10. Phytochemicals as mediators of aboveground-belowground interactions in plants Nicole M. van Dam; 11. Plant secondary metabolites and the interactions between plants and other organisms: the potential of a metabolomic approach Susan E. Hartley, Rene Eschen, Julia M. Horwood, Lynne Robinson and Elizabeth M. Hill; 12. Integrating the effects of PSMs on vertebrate herbivores across spatial and temporal scales Ben D. Moore and Jane L. DeGabriel; 13. Plant secondary metabolite polymorphisms and the extended chemical phenotype Glenn R. Iason, Ben D. Moore, Jack J. Lennon, Jenni A. Stockan, Graham H. R. Osler, Joanne R. Russell, Colin D. Campbell, David A. Sim and Joan R. Beaton; 14. From genes to ecosystems: emerging concepts bridging ecological and evolutionary dynamics Joseph K. Bailey, Jennifer A. Schweitzer, Francisco Úbeda, Matthew Zinkgraf, Benjamin M. Fitzpatrick, Julianne O'Reilly-Wapstra, Brian J. Rehill, Carri J. LeRoy, Bradley M. Potts, Thomas G. Whitham, Mark A. Genung, Dylan G. Fischer, Clara C. Pregitzer and Arthur Keith; 15. Asking the ecosystem if herbivory-inducible plant volatiles (hipvs) have defensive functions Meredith C. Schuman and Ian T. Baldwin; 16. Dynamics of plant secondary metabolites and consequences for food chains and community dynamics Marcel Dicke, Rieta Gols and Erik H. Poelman; Index.

Aimed at graduate students and researchers, this book reviews the ecology and function of plant secondary metabolites (PSM's) in natural ecosystems. It illustrates how recent methodological advances have brought new insights into the integrative roles of PSM's across multiple ecological levels and points to promising directions for future research.

Glenn R. Iason is a principal ecologist at the James Hutton Institute (Aberdeen, UK) with interests in the role of plant secondary metabolites in the nutritional ecology of herbivores and their wider effects in communities and ecosystems.
Marcel Dicke is Professor of Entomology at Wageningen University in The Netherlands. His ecological research focuses on the interaction between plants and insects and he has completed pioneering studies in the area of multitrophic interactions and community ecology.
Susan E. Hartley is Professor of Ecology at the University of York and Director of the York Environmental Sustainability Institute. She specialises in the study of plant-animal interactions, particularly the mechanisms by which plant defences affect herbivore performance.