Bioactive Molecules in Soil Ecosystems: Masters of the Underground
1
Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
2
Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14(5), 8841-8868; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms14058841
Received: 28 February 2013
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Revised: 10 April 2013
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Accepted: 12 April 2013
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Published: 24 April 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quorum Sensing Research in Microbial Systems)
Complex biological and ecological processes occur in the rhizosphere through ecosystem-level interactions between roots, microorganisms and soil fauna. Over the past decade, studies of the rhizosphere have revealed that when roots, microorganisms and soil fauna physically contact one another, bioactive molecular exchanges often mediate these interactions as intercellular signal, which prepare the partners for successful interactions. Despite the importance of bioactive molecules in sustainable agriculture, little is known of their numerous functions, and improving plant health and productivity by altering ecological processes remains difficult. In this review, we describe the major bioactive molecules present in below-ground ecosystems (i.e., flavonoids, exopolysaccharides, antibiotics and quorum-sensing signals), and we discuss how these molecules affect microbial communities, nutrient availability and plant defense responses.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Zhuang, X.; Gao, J.; Ma, A.; Fu, S.; Zhuang, G. Bioactive Molecules in Soil Ecosystems: Masters of the Underground. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14, 8841-8868. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms14058841
AMA Style
Zhuang X, Gao J, Ma A, Fu S, Zhuang G. Bioactive Molecules in Soil Ecosystems: Masters of the Underground. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2013; 14(5):8841-8868. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms14058841
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhuang, Xuliang, Jie Gao, Anzhou Ma, Shenglei Fu, and Guoqiang Zhuang. 2013. "Bioactive Molecules in Soil Ecosystems: Masters of the Underground" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 14, no. 5: 8841-8868. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms14058841
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