Chemically Mediated Plant–Plant Interactions: Allelopathy and Allelobiosis

Abstract

Plant–plant interactions are a central driver for plant coexistence and community assembly. Chemically mediated plant–plant interactions are represented by allelopathy and allelobiosis. Both allelopathy and allelobiosis are achieved through specialized metabolites (allelochemicals or signaling chemicals) produced and released from neighboring plants. Allelopathy exerts mostly negative effects on the establishment and growth of neighboring plants by allelochemicals, while allelobiosis provides plant neighbor detection and identity recognition mediated by signaling chemicals. Therefore, plants can chemically affect the performance of neighboring plants through the allelopathy and allelobiosis that frequently occur in plant–plant intra-specific and inter-specific interactions. Allelopathy and allelobiosis are two probably inseparable processes that occur together in plant–plant chemical interactions. Here, we comprehensively review allelopathy and allelobiosis in plant–plant interactions, including allelopathy and allelochemicals and their application for sustainable agriculture and forestry, allelobiosis and plant identity recognition, chemically mediated root–soil interactions and plant–soil feedback, and biosynthesis and the molecular mechanisms of allelochemicals and signaling chemicals. Altogether, these efforts provide the recent advancements in the wide field of allelopathy and allelobiosis, and new insights into the chemically mediated plant–plant interactions.