Phytohormone, Primary Metabolism, and Secondary Metabolites in the Plant Stress Tolerance Mechanism

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 14443

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Guest Editor
Department of Animal Science, Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, College of Agriculture & Life Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea
Interests: plant stress physiology and biochemistry; hormonal regulation of stress tolerance; hormone crosstalk; redox control; signaling pathway
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Guest Editor
Institute of Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture (IEFA), Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
Interests: hormonal interaction in stress responses and tolerance; proteomics; redox homeostasis; plant signaling molecules; metabolomics; autophagy
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Guest Editor
Biomaterial Analytical Laboratory, Central Instruments Facility, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea
Interests: proteomics; metabolomics; mass spectrometry; phytochemical analysis

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Guest Editor
Alson H. Smith Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Winchester, VA 22602, USA
Interests: plant stress physiology; phytohormone; secondary metabolites; omics (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics); RNAi-mediated plant-microbe interactions; bud-dormancy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climatic change is a major cause of abiotic and biotic stresses in plants. Plant stresses induce an alteration in phytohormonal status and carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur metabolism (e.g., photosynthetic activity, de novo protein, and amino acid synthesis, etc.) as well as an accumulation of compatible solutes (e.g., proline) and secondary metabolites (e.g., phenolics, flavonoids), accompanied by changes in redox and functional proteins. These stress-responsive alterations are components of the plant stress tolerance mechanism and defense system. Abiotic and biotic stress responses and tolerance mechanisms have widely been studied on a scale of molecular with mutants to organ level with genotypic/cultivar variation of field crops.

In recent decades, plant stress-induced alterations in endogenous hormonal status, primary metabolism, and secondary metabolites have been widely studied. However, their metabolic interaction and physiological roles in the plant stress tolerance mechanism are not yet fully understood. More recently, extensive progress has been made to further understand phytohormone signaling in the primary metabolism and secondary metabolite biosynthesis in stress responses and tolerance mechanisms. Meanwhile, questions are still open for the complex interconnected signaling and metabolic pathways. Current updates and future perspectives on stress responses and tolerance mechanisms, especially the roles of stress-responsive phytohormones, primary metabolism, and secondary metabolites, as well as their interaction, need to be considered.

Articles (original research, short communication, review, perspective) addressing recent advances in “Phytohormone, Primary Metabolism, and Secondary Metabolites in the Plant Stress Tolerance Mechanism” are welcome. The scope of this Special Issue covers the entire range of basic and applied plant physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and relevant interdisciplinary aspects. Field trials and agronomic modeling works are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Tae-Hwan Kim
Dr. Bok-Rye Lee
Dr. Dong-Won Bae
Dr. Md Tabibul Islam
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • biotic and abiotic stress
  • physiological responses
  • phytohormones
  • primary metabolism
  • secondary metabolites

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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18 pages, 3723 KiB  
Article
The Reactions of Photosynthetic Capacity and Plant Metabolites of Sedum hybridum L. in Response to Mild and Moderate Abiotic Stresses
by Nina V. Terletskaya, Gulnaz A. Seitimova, Nataliya O. Kudrina, Nataliya D. Meduntseva and Kazhybek Ashimuly
Plants 2022, 11(6), 828; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11060828 - 21 Mar 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2805
Abstract
In this article, for the first time, an experimental study of the effect of mild and moderate osmotic stress, NaCl content and the effect of low positive temperature on photosynthetic activity and composition of metabolites of immature plants Sedum hybridum L. is reported. [...] Read more.
In this article, for the first time, an experimental study of the effect of mild and moderate osmotic stress, NaCl content and the effect of low positive temperature on photosynthetic activity and composition of metabolites of immature plants Sedum hybridum L. is reported. In this representative of the genus Sedum adapted to arid conditions and having the properties of a succulent, a change in photosynthetic activity and an increase in the level of protective metabolites in the shoots were revealed when exposed to mild and moderate stress factors. The results of this study can be used in work on the adaptation of succulent plants to arid conditions, environmental monitoring and work on the directed induction of valuable secondary metabolites in succulents to obtain new herbal medicines. Full article
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15 pages, 2074 KiB  
Article
Ethephon-Induced Ethylene Enhances Protein Degradation in Source Leaves, but Its High Endogenous Level Inhibits the Development of Regenerative Organs in Brassica napus
by Bok-Rye Lee, Rashed Zaman, Van Hien La, Sang-Hyun Park and Tae-Hwan Kim
Plants 2021, 10(10), 1993; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10101993 - 23 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3003
Abstract
To investigate the regulatory role of ethylene in the source-sink relationship for nitrogen remobilization, short-term effects of treatment with different concentrations (0, 25, 50, and 75 ppm) of ethephon (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid, an ethylene inducing agent) for 10 days (EXP 1) and long-term effects [...] Read more.
To investigate the regulatory role of ethylene in the source-sink relationship for nitrogen remobilization, short-term effects of treatment with different concentrations (0, 25, 50, and 75 ppm) of ethephon (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid, an ethylene inducing agent) for 10 days (EXP 1) and long-term effects at 20 days (Day 30) after treatment with 100 ppm for 10 days (EXP 2) on protein degradation and amino acid transport in foliar sprayed mature leaves of Brassica napus (cv. Mosa) were determined. In EXP 1, endogenous ethylene concentration gradually increased in response to the treated ethephon concentration, leading to the upregulation of senescence-associated gene 12 (SAG12) expression and downregulation of chlorophyll a/b-binding protein (CAB) expression. Further, the increase in ethylene concentration caused a reduction in protein, Rubisco, and amino acid contents in the mature leaves. However, the activity of protease and expression of amino acid transporter (AAP6), an amino acid transport gene, were not significantly affected or slightly suppressed between the treatments with 50 and 75 ppm. In EXP 2, the enhanced ethylene level reduced photosynthetic pigments, leading to an inhibition of flower development without any pod development. A significant increase in protease activity, confirmed using in-gel staining of protease, was also observed in the ethephon-treated mature leaves. Ethephon application enhanced the expression of four amino acid transporter genes (AAP1, AAP2, AAP4, and AAP6) and the phloem loading of amino acids. Significant correlations between ethylene level, induced by ethephon application, and the descriptive parameters of protein degradation and amino acid transport were revealed. These results indicated that an increase in ethylene upregulated nitrogen remobilization in the mature leaves (source), which was accompanied by an increase in proteolytic activity and amino acid transport, but had no benefit to pod (sink) development. Full article
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17 pages, 2393 KiB  
Article
Drought Intensity-Responsive Salicylic Acid and Abscisic Acid Crosstalk with the Sugar Signaling and Metabolic Pathway in Brassica napus
by Sang-Hyun Park, Bok-Rye Lee, Van Hien La, Md Al Mamun, Dong-Won Bae and Tae-Hwan Kim
Plants 2021, 10(3), 610; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10030610 - 23 Mar 2021
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 3662
Abstract
The aim of this study was to characterize hormonal crosstalk with the sugar signaling and metabolic pathway based on a time course analysis of drought intensity. Drought intensity-responsive changes in the assimilation of newly fixed carbon (C) into soluble sugar, the content of [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to characterize hormonal crosstalk with the sugar signaling and metabolic pathway based on a time course analysis of drought intensity. Drought intensity-responsive changes in the assimilation of newly fixed carbon (C) into soluble sugar, the content of sugar and starch, and expression of genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism were interpreted as being linked to endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) levels and their signaling genes. The ABA and SA levels in the drought-stressed leaves increased together during the early drought period (days 0–6), and additional ABA accumulation occurred with depressed SA during the late period (days 6–14). Although drought treatment decreased the assimilation of newly fixed C into soluble sugar, representing a 59.9%, 33.1%, and 62.9% reduction in 13C-glucose, 13C-fructose, and 13C-sucrose on day 14, respectively, the drought-responsive accumulation of soluble sugars was significant. During the early period, the drought-responsive accumulation of hexose and sucrose was concurrent with the upregulated expression of hexokinase 1 (HXK1), which, in turn, occurred parallel to the upregulation of ABA synthesis gene 9-sis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED3) and SA-related genes (isochorismate synthase 1 (ICS1) and non-expressor of pathogenesis-related gene (NPR1)). During the late period, hexose accumulation, sucrose phloem loading, and starch degradation were dominant, with a highly enhanced expression of the starch degradation-related genes β-amylase 1 (BAM1) and α-amylase 3 (AMY3), which were concomitant with the parallel enhancement of sucrose non-fermenting−1 (Snf1)-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2).2 and ABA-responsive element binding 2 (AREB2) expression in an ABA-dependent manner. These results indicate that the drought-responsive accumulation of sugars (especially SA-mediated sucrose accumulation) is part of the acclamatory process during the early period. Conversely, ABA-responsive hexose accumulation and sucrose phloem loading represent severe drought symptoms during the late drought period. Full article
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12 pages, 1381 KiB  
Brief Report
Ethephon-Induced Ethylene Enhances Starch Degradation and Sucrose Transport with an Interactive Abscisic Acid-Mediated Manner in Mature Leaves of Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.)
by Bok-Rye Lee, Rashed Zaman, Van Hien La, Dong-Won Bae and Tae-Hwan Kim
Plants 2021, 10(8), 1670; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081670 - 13 Aug 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3714
Abstract
The leaf senescence process is characterized by the degradation of macromolecules in mature leaves and the remobilization of degradation products via phloem transport. The phytohormone ethylene mediates leaf senescence. This study aimed to investigate the ethephon-induced ethylene effects on starch degradation and sucrose [...] Read more.
The leaf senescence process is characterized by the degradation of macromolecules in mature leaves and the remobilization of degradation products via phloem transport. The phytohormone ethylene mediates leaf senescence. This study aimed to investigate the ethephon-induced ethylene effects on starch degradation and sucrose remobilization through their interactive regulation with other hormones. Ethephon (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid) was used as an ethylene-generating agent. Endogenous hormonal status, carbohydrate compounds, starch degradation-related gene expression, sucrose transporter gene expression, and phloem sucrose loading were compared between the ethephon-treated plants and controls. Foliar ethephon spray enhanced the endogenous ethylene concentration and accelerated leaf senescence, as evidenced by reduced chlorophyll content and enhanced expression of the senescence-related gene SAG12. Ethephon-enhanced ethylene prominently enhanced the endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) level. accompanied with upregulation of ABA synthesis gene 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED3), ABA receptor gene pyrabactin resistance 1 (PYR1), and ABA signaling genes sucrose non-fermenting 1 (Snf1)-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2), ABA-responsive element binding 2 (AREB2), and basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor (MYC2).) Ethephon treatment decreased starch content by enhancing expression of the starch degradation-related genes α-amylase 3 (AMY3) and β-amylase 1 (BAM1), resulting in an increase in sucrose content in phloem exudates with enhanced expression of sucrose transporters, SUT1, SUT4, and SWEET11. These results suggest that a synergistic interaction between ethylene and ABA might account for sucrose accumulation, mainly due to starch degradation in mature leaves and sucrose phloem loading in the ethephon-induced senescent leaves. Full article
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