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Plant Development and Hormonal Signaling
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Plant Development and Hormonal Signaling

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2025 | Viewed by 3661

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Naoufal Lakhssassi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant, Soil, and Agricultural Systems, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
Interests: plant genetics; genomics; molecular biology; biochemistry; breeding
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, titled “Plant Development and Hormonal Signaling”, in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences is a commendable initiative. Well-known plant hormones (phytohormones) include Abscisic acid; Auxins; Brassinosteroids; Cytokinins; Ethylene; Gibberellins; Salicylic acid; and Strigolactones. Some small peptide hormones, Polyamines, Nitric oxide (NO), Triacontanol, and other molecules are also involved in intercellular signaling, regulating plant growth and development and the defense mechanism of plant cells. Therefore, hormone signaling plays an important role in a plant’s whole life, including the formation of organs, flowering, fruiting, biotic and abiotic stress, etc. We encourage researchers to contribute papers focused on the topics of interest for this Special Issue, including, but not limited to, plant hormones, interactions between hormones, and hormone regulation in plant development. Original research articles and full reviews, communications, and other article types are welcome.

Dr. Naoufal Lakhssassi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • plant growth
  • reproductive growth
  • phytohormones
  • signal transduction
  • transcription factors
  • root development
  • shoot development
  • floral development
  • seed development
  • environmental interactions
  • regulatory networks
  • apical dominance

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3248 KiB  
Article
ABA and Melatonin: Players on the Same Field?
by Ivan Bychkov, Natalia Kudryakova, Elena S. Pojidaeva, Anastasia Doroshenko, Victoria Shitikova and Victor Kusnetsov
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(22), 12266; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252212266 - 15 Nov 2024
Viewed by 243
Abstract
In plants, abscisic acid (ABA) and melatonin (MT) are conventionally treated as molecules mitigating stress responses. To understand the mechanisms of ABA–MT interplay, we examined the effects of ABA and MT treatment in ABA and MT loss-of-function mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana exposed to high [...] Read more.
In plants, abscisic acid (ABA) and melatonin (MT) are conventionally treated as molecules mitigating stress responses. To understand the mechanisms of ABA–MT interplay, we examined the effects of ABA and MT treatment in ABA and MT loss-of-function mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana exposed to high light (HL) stress. ABA constantly suppressed ASMT encoding N-acetylserotonin methyltransferase in the context of differential responses of other MT biosynthesis genes in both the wild type (WT) and mutants. However, this response was absent in the mutant with the disrupted ABI4. Given that the ASMT promoter region contains several potential ABI4-binding elements, these data suggest that ASMT can be a potential target gene for ABI4. A role for ABI4 in the interactions between ABA and MT is supported by the finding that ABI4 is constitutively derepressed in the MT signaling mutants cand2 and gpa1, which exhibited elevated steady state levels of ABI4 transcripts and were not regulated by either stress or melatonin. In addition, the abi4 mutant showed increased modulations in the expression of the MT catabolic genes M2H and M3H in response to ABA treatment, inferring that this transcription factor is a negative regulator of ABA-dependent changes in MT content. Furthermore, all tested mutants with impaired ABA synthesis or signaling displayed elevated steady state MT levels compared to WT, while MT treatment contributed to the downregulation of key ABA synthesis and signaling genes. Collectively, our results suggest that ABA and melatonin act antagonistically, modulating the expression of ABA and MT signaling and metabolism genes. To understand the mechanisms of ABA–MT interactions, we studied the effects of ABA and MT treatment in ABA and MT loss-of-function mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana exposed to severe light stress (SLS). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Development and Hormonal Signaling)
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17 pages, 12147 KiB  
Article
Exogenous Melatonin Alleviates NaCl Injury by Influencing Stomatal Morphology, Photosynthetic Performance, and Antioxidant Balance in Maize
by Fuqiang He, Xiaoqiang Zhao, Guoxiang Qi, Siqi Sun, Zhenzhen Shi, Yining Niu, Zefeng Wu and Wenqi Zhou
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(18), 10077; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms251810077 - 19 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 680
Abstract
Maize (Zea mays L.) is sensitive to salt stress, especially during seed germination and seedling morphogenesis, which limits maize growth and productivity formation. As a novel recognized plant hormone, melatonin (MT) participates in multiple growth and developmental processes and mediates biotic/abiotic stress [...] Read more.
Maize (Zea mays L.) is sensitive to salt stress, especially during seed germination and seedling morphogenesis, which limits maize growth and productivity formation. As a novel recognized plant hormone, melatonin (MT) participates in multiple growth and developmental processes and mediates biotic/abiotic stress responses, yet the effects of salt stress on maize seedlings remain unclear. Herein, we investigated the effects of 150 μM exogenous MT on multiple phenotypes and physiologic metabolisms in three-leaf seedlings across eight maize inbred lines under 180 mM NaCl salt stress, including growth parameters, stomatal morphology, photosynthetic metabolisms, antioxidant enzyme activities, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Meanwhile, the six gene expression levels controlling antioxidant enzyme activities and photosynthetic pigment biosynthesis in two materials with contrasting salt resistance were examined for all treatments to explore the possible molecular mechanism of exogenous MT alleviating salt injury in maize. The results showed that 150 μM exogenous MT application protected membrane integrity and reduced ROS accumulation by activating the antioxidant system in leaves of maize seedlings under salt stress, their relative conductivity and H2O2 level average reduced by 20.91% and 17.22%, while the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) averaged increased by 13.90%, 17.02%, 22.00%, and 14.24% relative to salt stress alone. The improvement of stomatal size and the deposition of photosynthetic pigments were more favorable to enhancing photosynthesis in leaves when these seedlings treated with MT application under salt stress, their stomatal size, chlorophyll content, and net photosynthetic rate averaged increased by 11.60%, 19.64%, and 27.62%. Additionally, Gene expression analysis showed that MT stimulation significantly increased the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes (Zm00001d009990, Zm00001d047479, Zm00001d014848, and Zm00001d007234) and photosynthetic pigment biosynthesis genes (Zm00001d011819 and Zm00001d017766) under salt stress. At the same time, 150 μM MT significantly promoted seedling growth and biomass accumulation. In conclusion, our study may unravel crucial evidence of the role of MT in maize seedlings against salt stress, which can provide a novel strategy for improving maize salt stress resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Development and Hormonal Signaling)
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23 pages, 18063 KiB  
Article
Transcriptomic and Physiological Studies Unveil that Brassinolide Maintains the Balance of Maize’s Multiple Metabolisms under Low-Temperature Stress
by Xiaoqiang Zhao, Fuqiang He, Guoxiang Qi, Siqi Sun, Zhenzhen Shi, Yining Niu and Zefeng Wu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(17), 9396; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25179396 - 29 Aug 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 697
Abstract
Low-temperature (LT) is one of the major abiotic stresses that restrict the growth and development of maize seedlings. Brassinolides (BRs) have been shown to enhance LT tolerance in several plant species; the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which BRs enhance maize tolerance are [...] Read more.
Low-temperature (LT) is one of the major abiotic stresses that restrict the growth and development of maize seedlings. Brassinolides (BRs) have been shown to enhance LT tolerance in several plant species; the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which BRs enhance maize tolerance are still unclear. Here, we characterized changes in the physiology and transcriptome of N192 and Ji853 seedlings at the three-leaf stage with or without 2 μM 2,4-epibrassinolide (EBR) application at 25 and 15 °C environments via high-performance liquid chromatography and RNA-Sequencing. Physiological analyses revealed that EBR increased the antioxidant enzyme activities, enhanced the cell membrane stability, decreased the malondialdehyde formation, and inhibited the reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in maize seedlings under 15 °C stress; meanwhile, EBR also maintained hormone balance by increasing indole-3-acetic acid and gibberellin 3 contents and decreasing the abscisic acid level under stress. Transcriptome analysis revealed 332 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) enriched in ROS homeostasis, plant hormone signal transduction, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. These DEGs exhibited synergistic and antagonistic interactions, forming a complex LT tolerance network in maize. Additionally, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed that 109 hub genes involved in LT stress regulation pathways were discovered from the four modules with the highest correlation with target traits. In conclusion, our findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of exogenous BRs in enhancing LT tolerance of maize at the seedling stage, thus opening up possibilities for a breeding program of maize tolerance to LT stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Development and Hormonal Signaling)
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15 pages, 7641 KiB  
Article
A GASA Protein Family Gene, CmGEG, Inhibits Petal Growth in Chrysanthemum
by Ziying He, Rui Jiang, Xiaojing Wang and Yaqin Wang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(6), 3367; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25063367 - 16 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1249
Abstract
The diversity in the petal morphology of chrysanthemums makes this species an excellent model for investigating the regulation mechanisms of petal size. However, our understanding of the molecular regulation of petal growth in chrysanthemums remains limited. The GASA (gibberellic acid [GA]-stimulated Arabidopsis) protein [...] Read more.
The diversity in the petal morphology of chrysanthemums makes this species an excellent model for investigating the regulation mechanisms of petal size. However, our understanding of the molecular regulation of petal growth in chrysanthemums remains limited. The GASA (gibberellic acid [GA]-stimulated Arabidopsis) protein plays a significant role in various aspects of plant growth and development. Previous studies have indicated that GEG (a gerbera homolog of the gibberellin-stimulated transcript 1 [GAST1] from tomato) is involved in regulating ray petal growth by inhibiting cell expansion in gerberas. In this study, we successfully cloned the GASA family gene from chrysanthemums, naming it CmGEG, which shares 81.4% homology with GEG. Our spatiotemporal expression analysis revealed that CmGEG is expressed in all tissues, with the highest expression levels observed in the ray florets, particularly during the later stages of development. Through transformation experiments, we demonstrated that CmGEG inhibits petal elongation in chrysanthemums. Further observations indicated that CmGEG restricts cell elongation in the top, middle, and basal regions of the petals. To investigate the relationship between CmGEG and GA in petal growth, we conducted a hormone treatment assay using detached chrysanthemum petals. Our results showed that GA promotes petal elongation while downregulating CmGEG expression. In conclusion, the constrained growth of chrysanthemum petals may be attributed to the inhibition of cell elongation by CmGEG, a process regulated by GA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Development and Hormonal Signaling)
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