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Biomolecules
Special Issues
New Insights into Hormonal Control of Plant Growth and Development
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New Insights into Hormonal Control of Plant Growth and Development

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 2093

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Nihal Dharmasiri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA
Interests: phytohormones; auxin and auxin herbicides; ubiquitin mediated protein degradation; growth and development; stress response
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growth and development of plants are regulated by a genetic program that is fine-tuned by a myriad of extrinsic environmental signals and several endogenous plant hormones (phytohormones). These phytohormones comprise a group of diverse small molecules that include auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, abscisic acid, ethylene, brassinosteroids, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and peptide hormones. These hormones, which are small molecules, act at very low concentrations but virtually control almost every aspect of growth and development, including adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses. Thus, plant hormone response pathways are attractive sites for biotechnological modifications to improve crop productivity. In recent decades, knowledge regarding the hormonal control of plant growth and development has increased significantly; however, our understanding is still far from complete.

In this Special Issue, we encourage investigators to contribute high-quality original research, short communications, and review articles that focus on the implications of plant hormones in growth and development, their role in adaptation to the environment, including to abiotic and biotic stresses, the cross-talk between plant hormones and other cell signaling systems, and the influence of soil microorganisms on plant growth.

Dr. Nihal Dharmasiri
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant hormones
  • auxins
  • cytokinin
  • gibberellins
  • ethylene
  • abscisic acid
  • jasmonic acid
  • salicylic acid
  • peptide hormones
  • growth and development

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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13 pages, 2439 KB  
Article
2-Hydroxymelatonin Induces Husk-Imposed Vivipary in the Transgenic Rice Overexpressing Melatonin 2-Hydroxylase
by Kyungjin Lee and Kyoungwhan Back
Biomolecules 2025, 15(10), 1412; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15101412 - 4 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 771
Abstract
Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) reduces the quality and quantity of crop seeds. PHS can be imposed through the embryo or husk pathway of cereal crops. Most reported PHS seeds are imposed via the embryo pathway. Here, we generated transgenic rice plants overexpressing rice melatonin [...] Read more.
Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) reduces the quality and quantity of crop seeds. PHS can be imposed through the embryo or husk pathway of cereal crops. Most reported PHS seeds are imposed via the embryo pathway. Here, we generated transgenic rice plants overexpressing rice melatonin 2-hydroxylase (OsM2H), which catalyzes the hydroxylation of melatonin to 2-hydroxymelatonin (2-OHM). OsM2H overexpression (M2H-OE) showed PHS under paddy conditions. Germination assays revealed that intact seeds harvested at 26 and 36 days after heading (DAH) showed PHS, whereas dehusked seeds did not, indicating husk-imposed PHS. Overproduction of 2-OHM was observed in M2H-OE seeds compared to wild-type control. In addition, M2H-OE lines produced more hydrogen peroxide than the wild-type. 2-OHM-induced reactive oxygen species resulted in the induction of OsGA3ox2, a gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis gene, and repression of OsGA2ox3, a GA degradation gene, in caryopses at 2 DAH, but in the induction of the ABA degradation gene OsABA8ox3 in intact seeds at 26 DAH. In addition, M2H-OE seedlings were longer and showed increased levels of hydrogen peroxide and OsGA3ox2 expression versus the wild-type. This is the first report showing that 2-OHM can induce PHS via the husk pathway in rice seeds through the induction of GA biosynthetic and ABA degradation genes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Hormonal Control of Plant Growth and Development)
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18 pages, 7615 KB  
Article
Anatomical, Physiological, and Transcriptome Analyses Revealing Pod Shattering of Medicago ruthenica Associated with Pericarp Lignin Biosynthesis
by Lin Zhu, Maowei Guo, Zhiyong Li, Jun Li, Hongyan Li, Zinian Wu, Yonglei Tian and Chenggui Zhao
Biomolecules 2025, 15(9), 1269; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15091269 - 2 Sep 2025
Viewed by 869
Abstract
Background: Medicago ruthenica, a perennial legume forage valuable for ecological restoration and improved breeding, suffers significant harvest losses due to pod shattering. Pod shattering is a trait not only linked to not only pod ventral suture, but also pericarp properties. In [...] Read more.
Background: Medicago ruthenica, a perennial legume forage valuable for ecological restoration and improved breeding, suffers significant harvest losses due to pod shattering. Pod shattering is a trait not only linked to not only pod ventral suture, but also pericarp properties. In this study, we aimed to (1) elucidate the role of pericarp in explosive pod shattering by comparing shattering-susceptible (SPD) and shattering-resistant (RPD) M. ruthenica genotypes, and (2) identify key regulatory genes and pathways underlying this mechanism. Methods: We conducted comparative analyses of pericarp anatomy and physiological traits (pericarp components such as water content, cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and lignin; and the activities of enzymes such as cellulose synthase A (CesA), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), 4-coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL), cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD), and peroxidase (POD) in SPD and RPD pods). Transcriptome of pod pericarps identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for the selection of candidates functional genes. Promoter analysis was performed on candidate functional genes to identify specific regulated factors. The functional role of auxin signaling was validated through exogenous auxin application and the assessment of pod shattering rates and gene expression. Results: SPD pod pericarps exhibited significantly higher lignification of endocarp, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin content, but lower water content than RPD. Principal component analysis identified that lignin contributes the highest loading value (0.727) contributor to pod shattering. The activities of five cell wall biosynthesis enzymes were higher in SPD pod pericarps than RPD. Transcriptome analysis identified more than 3419 DEGs in SPD pericarps. KEGG enrichment highlighted “phenylpropanoid biosynthesis” as the most significant pathway. A total of 57 lignin-biosynthesis-related DEGs were upregulated in SPD, including 15 PODs. Promoters of 11 POD genes contained MYB-binding motifs and 8 contained auxin-responsive elements, a total of 76 MYB transcription factors (mostly upregulated) and 9 auxin biosynthesis genes (mostly downregulated) were differentially expressed in SPD. Exogenous auxin application significantly reduced SPD pod shattering to 23.6% and concurrently downregulated PODs expression. Conclusions: This study establishes that enhanced lignification within the pericarp endocarp by the upregulation of lignin biosynthetic genes (particularly PODs), coupled with upregulation by MYB transcription factors and downregulation by auxin, is a core mechanism of explosive pod shattering in M. ruthenica. The identified DEGs, especially MYBs, PODs, and auxin pathway genes, provide gene information for breeding shattering-resistant M. ruthenica varieties through molecular design or marker-assisted selection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Hormonal Control of Plant Growth and Development)
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