title: Bioactive molecules in soil ecosystems: masters of the underground.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. xlzhuang@rcees.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xuliang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Anzhou
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Shenglei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Guoqiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhuang
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D017753:Ecosystem; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000378:metabolism*; D053038:Quorum Sensing; D058441:Rhizosphere; D012987:Soil
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D012987:Soil