Isoprenoids represent the dominant compound class of biogenic volatile organic compounds emitted by plants. Isoprene and monoterpenes have profound effects on atmospheric chemistry and shape the chemical landscape of many ecosystems and plant-environmental interactions therein. The accuracy of global estimates of emission development in regard to a changing climate and increasing drought frequency is limited by our understanding of the fundamental processes driving emission and biosynthesis of isoprenoids by plants under varying physiological conditions. Further, the effect of drought on compounds utilised for above- and below-ground plant-environmental signalling, such as chiral monoterpenes, is so far hard to assess. The mirrored conformation of the two enantiomers of chiral monoterpenes alters their biological acitivity but not their physical properties, complicating analytical distinction, which is why they are often overlooked in environmental studies. Accordingly, the overaching scope of my thesis was to further our understanding of the effects of drought in above- and below-ground emission and biosynthesis of isoprenoids.
