FIG 2.

Volatile organic compound (VOC)-mediated interactions between bulk soil and rhizosphere could be involved in a range of ecosystem-level functions and link the bulk soil microbiome with rhizobiome, endobiome, and phyllobiome. The metarhizobiome would allow the plant to connect physically larger space, diversity, and abundance of microbes in the soil matrix. Further, VOC effects emerging in the soil could cascade beyond the rhizosphere, affecting microbe-plant interactions inside the plant (endosphere) and on the plant leaves (phyllosphere), linking below- and aboveground microbiomes.