Biogenic secondary organic aerosol participates in plant interactions and herbivory defense

Biogenic secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) can be formed from the oxidation of plant volatiles in the atmosphere. Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) can elicit plant defenses, but whether such ecological functions persist after they form SOAs was previously unknown. Here we show that Scots pine seedlings damaged by large pine weevils feeding on their roots release HIPVs that trigger defenses in neighboring conspecific plants. Interestingly, the biological activity persisted after HIPVs had been oxidized to form SOAs, which was indicated by receivers displaying enhanced photosynthesis, primed volatile defenses, and reduced weevil damage. The elemental composition and quantity of SOAs likely determines their biological functions. This work demonstrates that plant-derived SOAs can mediate interactions between plants, highlighting its ecological significance in ecosystems., , , # Biogenic secondary organic aerosol participates in plant interactions and herbivory defense

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h18931zv6](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h18931zv6)

We have submitted the raw data generating all figures and tables in the main text and Supplementary Materials. There are two files: AllRawDataexceptfigureS5.xlsx and RawDatafigureS5.xlsx. The file “AllRawDataexceptfigureS5.xlsx” contains the raw data used to generate Fig.1, Fig.2, Fig.3, Fig.4, Fig.5, Fig.S3, Fig.S4, Table S1, Table S2, Table S3, Table S4 and Table S5. Additionally, it includes the SPSS code used for all the statistical analysis. The file “RawDatafigureS5.xlsx.” contains the raw data used to generate Fig. S5.

## Description of the data and file structure

#### **AllRawDataexceptfigureS5**

* *Run*: we ran the Part 1 of the experiment four times (Run 1 to 4).
* *Weevil-infested plants*: Scots pine seedlings infested with large pine weevils belowground.
* *Non-infested plants*: Scots pine seedli...