Green Leaf Volatiles in Plant Stress Signaling and Defense

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite submissions for a Special Issue of Plants entitled “Green Leaf Volatiles in Plant Stress Signaling and Defense.” This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research and perspectives on the multifaceted roles of green leaf volatiles (GLVs) in plant communication, adaptation, and defense.

Green leaf volatiles—short-chain aldehydes, alcohols, and esters derived from the lipoxygenase pathway—are among the most ubiquitous and rapidly produced metabolites in the plant kingdom. Released within seconds of mechanical damage or herbivore attack, these volatiles serve as both local and systemic signals that can prime neighboring tissues and plants for defense. Beyond their ecological relevance, GLVs influence interactions with herbivores, pathogens, and beneficial organisms, and their impact extends from the molecular to the ecosystem level. Despite decades of study, new insights continue to emerge about their biosynthesis, perception, and integration into broader stress-response networks.

This Special Issue seeks to highlight recent advances in our understanding of how GLVs contribute to plant stress signaling and defense, from fundamental biochemical and genetic mechanisms to ecological and applied dimensions. We welcome contributions that expand our knowledge of how plants use these compounds to sense, respond, and adapt to their environment.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Biosynthesis, regulation, and metabolic engineering of green leaf volatiles;
• Mechanisms of GLV perception and downstream signaling pathways;
• GLV-mediated priming and systemic acquired resistance;
• Crosstalk between GLVs and other signaling molecules such as jasmonates, salicylates, and reactive oxygen species;
• The ecological functions of GLVs in plant–plant and plant–insect interactions;
• The roles of GLVs in abiotic stress responses and their potential in improving crop resilience;
• Analytical advances in GLV detection, quantification, and flux analysis;
• Applications of GLVs in sustainable agriculture and pest management.

We invite original research articles, reviews, perspectives, and short communications that contribute to the ongoing discussion of how GLVs integrate into the complex web of plant signaling and defense. Studies employing multidisciplinary approaches—ranging from molecular biology, biochemistry, and metabolomics to ecology and modeling—are particularly encouraged.

By presenting contributions from across disciplines, this Special Issue will provide a comprehensive and contemporary view of the emerging roles of GLVs in plant stress signaling and defense. We look forward to receiving your submissions and to advancing this exciting field together.

Dr. Jurgen Engelberth
Dr. Tristan Cofer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.