A recent study published in Plant and Soil explores how tomato plants utilize both aboveground and belowground defense strategies when exposed to simultaneous environmental stressors. The research, titled "Interactions between soil source, flooding, and herbivory shape tomato plant volatile emissions and rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities," was conducted by Assistant Professor Esther Ngumbi, Assistant Director of the IB Merit Program Erinn Dady, PEEC Director Angela Kent, and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Carl Woese Institute of Genomic Biology Sierra Raglin.
The study examined how flooding, insect herbivory, and their combination affect tomato plant volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and the composition of rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities. The researchers found that flooding was the primary driver of VOC emissions, with the combined stressors of flooding and insect herbivory significantly increasing total VOCs. Soil characteristics, particularly iron, manganese, and ammonium nitrogen, influenced VOC profiles, while soil source was the dominant factor shaping belowground microbial communities.
The team expresses gratitude for the use of soils collected from community partners, including Sola Gratia and Humbleweed Farm, which provided valuable insights into the role of soil origin in plant defense mechanisms.
This research contributes to a deeper understanding of how plants respond to multiple stressors and highlights the importance of considering both aboveground and belowground factors in plant defense strategies.