Secondary Metabolites in Soil Ecology focuses on the role of bacterial, fungal and plant secondary metabolites in soil ecosystems. Our understanding of the biological function of secondary metabolites is surprisingly limited, considering our knowledge of their structural diversity and pharmaceutically relevant activities. This volume reviews functional aspects of secondary metabolite production, with a focus on interactions among soil organisms.

Topics such as truffle metabolites and burnt phenomenon, ecology of mycotoxins in soil, root exudates, and chemical interactions between Streptomyces and mycorrhiza fungi are treated. Further aspects are the role of microbial metabolites as quorum sensing signals, their role in protecting plants against pathogens and the effect of volatiles on soil invertebrates. Chapters describing techniques for the detection of antibiotics in soil and the application of metabolomics to rhizosphere research, which has advanced rapidly in recent years, complement the book.

Detection and Analysis

Secondary Metabolites in Soil Ecology
Detection of Antibiotics Produced by Soil and Rhizosphere Microbes In Situ
Rhizosphere Metabolomics: Methods and Applications
N-Acyl Homoserine Lactone Quorum Sensing in Gram-Negative Rhizobacteria
Bacterial Metabolites
The Effect of Bacterial Secondary Metabolites on Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens of Rice
Secondary Metabolites of Soil Streptomycetes in Biotic Interactions
Fungal Metabolites
The Effect of Fungal Secondary Metabolites on Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens
Biological Significance of Truffle Secondary Metabolites
Mycotoxins in the Soil Environment
Plant Metabolites
Constitutive Secondary Plant Metabolites and Soil Fungi: Defense Against or Facilitation of Diversity
Root Exudates Modulate Plant-Microbe Interactions in the Rhizosphere
Functional Aspects
The Impacts of Selected Natural Plant Chemicals on Terrestrial Invertebrates
The Role of Soil Microbial Volatile Products in Community Functional Interactions.