Transfer of biochemical defence between plant species

Nobody ever considered the possibility that plants cheat in on chemical defense synthesis in neighbouring plant species. We hypothesise that plants steal defence precursors that originate from chemical synthesis in neighbouring plant species. Wheat, rye and maize produce benzoxazinoids (BXs), a group of defence chemicals. When released from roots to the soil, microorganisms transform BXs into small molecules that should be readily available for uptake by plants that do not produce BXs. We ask if neighbouring plants exploit these defence precursors as a fast and inexpensive track to defence against pest organisms. We expect to show that clover plants take up BX-derived microbial metabolites from the soil and use them for defence against plant parasitic nematodes. We thus propose a completely new concept of microbial-mediated chemical interactions between plant species with wide implications for fundamental understanding of plant community dynamics, plant defence mechanisms and strategies for pesticide-free crop protection strategies.