Non-volatile plant metabolites as chemical signals: linking resilience to ecological sustainability under climate change.

key messageNon-volatile specialized metabolites function as chemical signals linking plant physiological state with environmental interactions. I propose that root-derived non-volatile metabolites are continuously transformed across the rhizosphere and plant tissues to generate dynamic signaling states that define plant resilience under stress and recovery. Together, these processes position plant metabolism as a mechanistic and predictive interface connecting cellular responses to ecological sustainability under climate change. Non-volatile specialized metabolites are increasingly recognized as chemical signals that connect plant physiological processes with environmental interactions. This Perspective proposes that root-derived non-volatile metabolites undergo continuous transformation across the rhizosphere and plant tissues through microbial, soil-mediated, and enzymatic processes, generating dynamic signaling states with distinct functional properties. Environmental stress modulates these transformation pathways, while post-stress recovery may further reconfigure metabolite profiles and influence subsequent responses. In the rhizosphere, transformation-derived metabolites can shape microbial interactions, plant-soil feedbacks, and below ground chemical communication, while within plants they may contribute to systemic metabolic coordination. Together, these processes define an integrated metabolomic state that is proposed to influence plant resilience. Identifying transformation-dependent metabolite signatures may therefore provide mechanistic and predictive insights into plant responses to environmental change and offer opportunities to connect plant physiology with ecological sustainability and climate-resilient crop improvement.