Dr Zijun Li, ILAQH postdoctoral research fellow was involved in a ground-breaking, interdisciplinary study led by the University of Eastern Finland. The study highlighted the role of plant-derived secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) in mediating plant-plant interactions and their potential ecological and evolutionary function in large ecosystems. In the study, he was responsible for real-time measurements of plant volatiles using an online mass spectrometer (PTR-MS). These measurements were critical in reflecting the response of the SOA-mediated plants to herbivores.
The findings of the study were published in a paper titled, “Biogenic secondary organic aerosol participates in plant interactions and herbivory defense”, published in Science.
To read the paper.