Biogenic Volatile Isoprenoid Emission and Levels of Natural Selection

Abstract

Biogenic volatile isoprenoid emission as a biological process has many worthwhile yet unanswered questions of fundamental scientific and ecological merit. Foremost among them is to understand and quantify the long-term feedback effects of volatile emission on climate and climate-driven macro-evolutionary changes. Moreover, we are now at a stage where our understanding of biogenic isoprenoid emission at the molecular and ecophysiological levels holds the key to the doors of next generation breakthroughs in isoprenoid-dependent applications in synthetic chemistry, human bio-therapeutics and agro-food industries. Like any other living trait/process, biogenic volatile isoprenoid emission has several levels of complex organization. We summarise biophysical, chemical and ecological functions of biogenic volatile isoprenoid emission highlighting aspects of evolution at different levels of natural selection.