The sessile plant has developed mechanisms to survive the “rough and tumble” of its natural surroundings, aided by its evolved innate immune system. Precise perception and rapid response to stress stimuli confer a fitness edge to the plant against its competitors, guaranteeing greater chances of survival and productivity. Plants can “eavesdrop” on volatile chemical cues from their stressed neighbours and have adapted to use these airborne signals to prepare for impending danger without having to experience the actual stress themselves. The role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in plant–plant communication has gained significant attention over the past decade, particularly with regard to the potential of VOCs to prime non-stressed plants for more robust defence responses to future stress challenges. The ecological relevance of such interactions under various environmental stresses has been much debated, and there is a nascent understanding of the mechanisms involved. This review discusses the significance of VOC-mediated inter-plant interactions under both biotic and abiotic stresses and highlights the potential to manipulate outcomes in agricultural systems for sustainable crop protection via enhanced defence. The need to integrate physiological, biochemical, and molecular approaches in understanding the underlying mechanisms and signalling pathways involved in volatile signalling is emphasised.

The volatile-mediated interplay between stressed and non-stressed plants has been described in many studies involving both biotic and abiotic stresses as a one-way channel. However, very little is known about the molecular basis and mechanisms by which volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mediate plant communication between drought-stressed ‘emitter’ plants and non-stressed ‘receiver’ neighbours for the defence against impending stress challenges. Aiming to address this in grapevine, this study investigated the effect of two-way VOC exchange between stressed and non-stressed Vitis vinifera L. cv. Shiraz during drought and recovery using four treatments: isolated well-watered (WW) vines, isolated drought-stressed (DS) vines, and co-located DS ‘emitter’ and WW ‘receiver’ vines in a growth room. The results obtained from solid-phase microextraction (SPME) gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed a synchronised decline in α-pinene concentration in the co-located treatment vines and higher isoprene levels in the DS emitters compared to the isolated DS vines. Targeted gene expression analysis further identified the over-expression of a key gene, allene oxide synthase (AOS), in the jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis pathway during peak drought in the DS emitter. Transcript expression of chorismate synthase (CHORS) and α-pinene synthase (VvPNaPin1) showed similar trends in the DS emitter. The results suggest that isoprene and α-pinene may be interplant signalling molecules used by grapevine during drought. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a bi-directional interaction in grapevine between the emitters and receivers under drought stress mediated by the JA and terpenoid biosynthesis pathways.