Metabolic signatures accompany exploratory movement in climbing plants

Climbing plants rely on exploratory movements to locate and reach supports in the environment. Circumnutation is central to this exploratory behavior, yet little is known about the physiological signaling dynamics that accompany this movement. Here we show that the presence or absence of a climbing support is associated with distinct volatile organic compounds (VOCs) intensity profiles in Pisum sativum plants. Using temporal analyses aligned with circumnutation cycles, we detected distinct VOCs patterns in plants growing with or without a potential support in the surrounding environment, even before physical contact occurs. Overall VOCs intensity and the coupling between VOCs signals and circumnutation movement descriptors were higher when supports were absent. This pattern suggests that support-seeking movements are associated with metabolic changes that are in line with early physiological adjustment associated with the environmental context. Our findings identify a previously undescribed association between VOCs dynamics and circumnutation modulation during support searching in climbing plants.