Ecological and biological functions of mVOCs

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Recent advances highlighted the incredible complexity of the microbial populations and communities in nature, e.g. there are more than 5 x 10⁶ bacterial species in 1 g soil, or 10⁷ bacterial cells per cm² leaf area, the global microbiome comprises 10³⁰ cells and 10¹⁸ bacterial species (Farre-Armengol et al. 2016, Penuelas and Terradas 2014, Stolz 2017). In the past decade it was documented that beside diffusible compounds, microorganisms are an exceptional source of volatile organic compounds, characterized by their high vapor pressure, low boiling point and a molecular mass of below 300Da.
It is commonplace that microorganisms, bacteria and fungi, are responsible for the production of aromas of foodstuff, e.g. cheese, wine, beer, yoghurt, which have been selected for human preferences. Attention was given to mVOCs that can be used as diagnostic tools in medicine, e.g. the mVOC methyl nicotinate is emitted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which infects the human lung and could be used as a clinical tool for detecting tuberculosis. Furthermore mVOCs of microorganisms growing on hardware, e.g. indoor walls, are also indicators for contaminations and pollutants with potential consequences for human health (Korpi et al. 2009). Beside diverse medical applications of mVOCs new approaches in agriculture and biotechnology are also envisioned (summarized in Piechulla and Lemfack 2016).