REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Symbiotic Interactions
This article is part of the Research TopicWomen in Plant Symbiotic Interactions: 2025View all 3 articles
Mycorrhizal fungi volatiles: determining the fate of plants against stress?
Provisionally accepted
Esperanza Miñambres
María Chaparro-Arias
Jorge Señorans
Sara VarelaAinhoa Soria-Solabarrieta
Monica Calvo-Polanco*- University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
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Mycorrhizal fungi represent one of the oldest and most successful symbioses in plant evolution. Communication among mycorrhizal fungi and plants occurs prior to direct contact among them through different and variable biochemical signals, including microRNAs, hormones, small peptides and volatile organic and inorganic compounds. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emerge as key chemical signals that enable the transmission of chemical messages modulating plant and microorganism responses in both below-and above-ground ecosystems. The diversity and concentration of mycorrhizal VOCs will vary depending on the environment and the emitting organism and are usually related to changes in the conformation of root architecture and lateral root formation mediated by auxin and strigolactones. Moreover, the study of the effects of mycorrhizal VOCs in the tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress are still scarce although there are some promising results pointing out to the effect of these VOCs in plant development under osmotic stress conditions, and their properties as antifungal and antibacterial molecules. However, the information regarding the molecular mechanisms involved in mycorrhizal VOCs signaling and their effect on plants remains still elusive. The understanding of VOC-mediated plant-mycorrhizal interactions, together with the technical improvements for their detection and mode of application in the field, will open new avenues for biotechnological crop improvement and management that not only will reduce the dependence on agrochemicals but also fosters soil health and plant resilience.
Keywords: abiotic stress, biotic stress, mycorrhizal fungi, Plantdevelopment, Volatile organic and inorganic compounds
Received: 28 Nov 2025; Accepted: 02 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Miñambres, Chaparro-Arias, Señorans, Varela, Soria-Solabarrieta and Calvo-Polanco. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Monica Calvo-Polanco
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