Current Protein and Peptide Science - Volume 16, Issue 5, 2015

Plant growth and development is under the control of mutual interactions among plant hormones. The five classical categories of plant hormones include auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, abscisic acid and ethylene. Additionally, newer classes of plant hormones have been recognized like brassinosteroids, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid and polyamines. These hormones play significant roles in regulating the plant growth and development. Various receptors and key signaling components of these hormones have been studied and identified. At genetic level, crosstalk among the various plant hormones is found to be antagonistic or synergistic. In addition, components of signaling pathway of one plant hormone interact with the signaling components of other hormone. Thus, an attempt has been made to review the literature regarding the role of plant hormones in plant physiology and the common molecular players in their signaling and crosstalk.

The plant hormone auxin regulates a whole repertoire of plant growth and development. Many plant-associated microorganisms, by virtue of their auxin production capability, mediate phytostimulation effects on plants. Recent studies, however, demonstrate diverse mechanisms whereby plant pathogens manipulate auxin biosynthesis, signaling and transport pathways to promote host susceptibility. Auxin responses have been coupled to their antagonistic and synergistic interactions with salicylic acid and jasmonate mediated defenses, respectively. Here, we discuss that a better understanding of auxin crosstalk to plant immune networks would enable us to engineer crop plants with higher protection and low unintended yield losses.

As signal molecules produced within the plant, phytohormones (plant hormones) control plant growth and development through the regulation of gene expression. They play also a crucial role in the regulation of cellular activities including elongation, cell division and differentiation, organogenesis, pattern formation, reproduction and responses to abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins, abscisic acid and ethylene are five classic phytohormones that had been discovered by the middle of the twentieth century, while strigolactones, brassinosteroids, jasmonates and salicylates are of more recently characterized phytohormones. Interaction between different phytohormone pathways is essential in coordinating tissue outgrowth in response to environmental changes. In the past decades, hormone research has focused on elucidating signal transduction pathways from hormone perception to response. Such efforts have been well paid off by recent discoveries of almost all receptors for major classes of phytohormones. While receptors and pathways for individual hormones are being illustrated, growing evidence suggests that these signaling pathways are interconnected in a complex network. In these pathways, phytohormones not only coordinate fundamental developmental cues, but also convey environmental inputs by means of synergistic or antagonistic actions referred to as signaling crosstalk. Focusing on hormone action and crosstalk, this work suggested concentrating on phytohormones signaling, particularly cytokinin crosstalk with other hormones, in various plants. Plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses are also elucidated regarding the dramatic recent progress in understanding the cytokinin-other phytohormones crosstalk.

Plants tend to acclimatize to unfavourable environs by integrating growth and development to environmentally activated signals. Phytohormones strongly regulate convergent developmental and stress adaptive procedures and synchronize cellular reaction to the exogenous and endogenous conditions within the adaptive signaling networks. Gibberellins (GA), a group of tetracyclic diterpenoids, being vital regulators of plant growth, are accountable for regulating several aspects of growth and development of higher plants. If the element of reproduction is considered as an absolute requisite then for a majority of the higher plants GA signaling is simply indispensable. Latest reports have revealed unique conflicting roles of GA and other phytohormones in amalgamating growth and development in plants through environmental signaling. Numerous physiological researches have detailed substantial crosstalk between GA and other hormones like abscisic acid, auxin, cytokinin, and jasmonic acid. In this review, a number of explanations and clarifications for this discrepancy are explored based on the crosstalk among GA and other phytohormones.

As sessile organisms, plants cannot escape from adverse conditions and, therefore, they have developed complex responses to the changing environment. Plant responses to abiotic cues involve changes in metabolism, photosynthesis, gene expression, ion levels, etc., and must be perfectly coordinated by phytohormones. The abscisic acid (ABA) is the main phytohormone involved in abiotic stress responses although it is nowadays clear that its signaling pathways are not isolated but interconnected with other hormone signals in complex networks. This article revises molecular mechanisms involved in the crosstalks of ABA with other phytohormones in response to different physiological processes. Moreover, ABA is not a molecule exclusive from plants but it can be found in many other organisms including bacteria, algae, fungi, animals, etc. Interestingly, it can be synthesized and secreted by a variety of human cells. These aspects that confer to the ABA a range of ubiquitous molecule will be also revised in this article.

Environmental stress includes adverse factors like water deficit, high salinity, enhanced temperature and heavy metals etc. These stresses alter the normal growth and metabolic processes of plants including photosynthesis. Major photosynthetic responses under various stresses include inhibition of photosystems (I and II), changes in thylakoid complexes, decreased photosynthetic activity and modifications in structure and functions of chloroplasts etc. Various defense mechanisms are triggered inside the plants in response to these stresses that are regulated by plant hormones or plant growth regulators. These phytohormones include abscisic acid, auxins, cytokinins, ethylene, brassinosteroids, jasmonates and salicylic acid etc. The present review focuses on stress protective effects of plants hormones on the photosynthetic responses.

Phytohormone crosstalk is crucial for plant defenses against pathogens and insects in which salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and ethylene (ET) play key roles. These low molecular mass signals critically trigger and modulate plant resistance against biotrophic as well as necrotrophic pathogens through a complex signaling network that even involves participation of other hormones. Crosstalk among SA, JA and ET is mediated by different molecular players, considered as integral part of these crosscommunicating signal transduction pathways. Recent progress has revealed that the positive versus negative interactions among those pathways ultimately enable a plant to fine-tune its defense against specific aggressors. On the other hand, pathogens have evolved strategies to manipulate the signaling network to their favour in order to intensify virulence on host plant. Here we review recent advances and current knowledge on the role of classical primary defense hormones SA, JA and ET as well as their synergistic and antagonistic interaction in plant disease and immune responses. Crosstalk with other hormones such as abscisic acid, auxin, brassinosteroids, cytokinins and melatonin is also discussed mainly in plant disease resistance. In addition to our keen focus on hormonal crosstalk, this review also highlights potential implication of positive and negative regulatory interactions for developing an efficient disease management strategy through manipulation of hormone signaling in plant.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are ubiquitous plant steroid hormones, playing diverse roles in plant growth, development and stress responses. Defects in BRs biosynthesis or signaling result in physiologic and phenotypic abnormalities. To date, numerous studies have highlighted BRs-induced stress tolerance to various environmental extremes such as high temperature, chilling, drought, salinity and heavy metals in a range of plant species. However, the in-depth mechanisms of BRs-induced stress tolerance still remain largely unknown. It is now clear that BRs-induced stress responses are strictly concentration dependent and the optimal concentration for improving the plant adaptability may vary depending on the plant species, developmental stages and environmental conditions as well. Conflicting evidences concerning regulation of stress adaptation by BRs demand further elucidation of mechanism of BRs action in response to environmental stresses in plants. Recent advances in phytohormone research suggest that the effect of BRs on stress tolerance relies largely on its interplay with other hormones. In this review, we critically analyze the multifaceted roles of BRs in various abiotic stresses and its potential crosstalk with other hormones in stress adaptation. The discrepancy in the dose and mode of application of BRs analogues for stress management is also discussed.