Plant Secreted Metabolites

Dear Colleagues,

In the wild or in the fields, plants live in a fluctuating environment. Edaphic conditions can vary drastically depending on the weather, or geographic and geochemical factors. When faced with an unfavorable environment, plants cannot move to a more suitable location. Instead, they will produce and secrete metabolites that either have a protective effect on their community or a modifying effect on their environment. Such adaptative mechanisms are implemented by plants in order to mediate interactions with other organisms, promote nutrition, or protect themselves against abiotic stresses. In addition to the direct effects on the solubility of some elements, the release of these molecules by plants into the rhizosphere also affects macro- and microorganisms, positively or negatively, notably other plants, bacteria, fungi, protists, nematodes, or herbivores.

Consequently, there is an additional indirect impact on plant nutrition due to changes in the mineralization of organic matter, pressure from pests and pathogens, and competition or cooperation with neighboring plants. Some of these small, secreted molecules also protect plants against various stresses, such as drought and chemical toxicity of non-essential elements.

A plethora of examples is available in the literature, but the underlying biochemical and molecular mechanisms are often poorly documented. Several species have been shown to release thousands of different molecules though their roots. Many of these molecules remain unidentified to date, and their biological significance is unclear, even in the case of well-known molecules. This topic aims at improving our knowledge and understanding of small molecules secreted by plants, in order to enable us to leverage these remarkable biological properties for applications such as plant protection, engineering of crops with improved nutrition capabilities, and decreased environmental impact. In this issue, we welcome the submission of research articles, reviews, or opinions that focus on the identification, function, and effects of specialized metabolites secreted by plants.

Dr. Louis Grillet
Dr. Christian Dubos
Dr. Hatem Rouached 
Guest Editors

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• metabolites
• chelation
• remobilization
• exudates
• rhizosphere
• allelopathy
• small molecules
• nutrition