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The Role of Phytohormones in Plant Biotic/Abiotic Stress Tolerance
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The Role of Phytohormones in Plant Biotic/Abiotic Stress Tolerance

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 October 2025 | Viewed by 3275

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Gastón Pizzio

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Institute for Integrative Systems Biology, I²SysBio, Universitat de València—CSIC, 46908 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
Interests: phytohormones; cell signaling; ABA biotechnology; abiotic stress
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ability to feed the growing human population relies on the resilience of crops to different stress factors. Both biotic and abiotic stresses, intensified by climate change, pose significant challenges to global food production. To combat this threat, the use of phytohormones and agonists that improve tolerance to environmental stress shows great promise. Phytohormones have the potential to enhance plant osmotic adjustment, trigger antioxidant responses, regulate plant transpiration and activate plant immunity against pathogens. In this context, plant hormones such as abscisic acid, auxin, brassinosteroid, cytokinin, ethylene, gibberellic acid, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and strigolactone play crucial roles in regulating plant stress responses and tolerance. To enhance plant survival under suboptimal environments, research on the hormonal regulation of plant stress is mandatory.

Led by Dr. Gastón Pizzio and assisted by our Topical Advisory Panel Member Dr. Lujun Yu (Sun Yat-sen University), this Special Issue of IJMS on “The Role of Phytohormones in Plant Biotic/Abiotic Stress Tolerance” groups original research articles and review papers regarding this matter, covering hormone synthesis, perception, signaling, and response. Exploring the mechanisms underlying biotic/abiotic stress tolerance in plants presents exciting prospects for agricultural biotechnology applications and the improvement of food production. The ultimate goal is to establish a solid foundation that can drive future efforts in breeding crops with enhanced resistance to stress factors.

Dr. Gastón Pizzio
Guest Editor

Dr. Lujun Yu
Guest Editor Assistant

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Keywords

  • biotic/abiotic stress
  • phytohormone
  • resistance to stress

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 4683 KiB  
Article
Abscisic Acid Enhances Ex Vitro Acclimatization Performance in Hop (Humulus lupulus L.)
by Luciana Di Sario, David Navarro-Payá, María F. Zubillaga, José Tomás Matus, Patricia A. Boeri and Gastón A. Pizzio
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(14), 6923; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26146923 - 18 Jul 2025
Viewed by 160
Abstract
Humulus lupulus L. (hop) is a multipurpose crop valued for its essential role in beer production and for its bioactive compounds with recognized medicinal properties. Otherwise, climate change represents a major challenge to agriculture, particularly impacting the cultivation of crops with stenoecious characteristics, [...] Read more.
Humulus lupulus L. (hop) is a multipurpose crop valued for its essential role in beer production and for its bioactive compounds with recognized medicinal properties. Otherwise, climate change represents a major challenge to agriculture, particularly impacting the cultivation of crops with stenoecious characteristics, such as hop. This highlights the urgent need to enhance crop resilience to adverse environmental conditions. The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) is a key regulator of plant responses to abiotic stress, yet the ABA signaling pathway remains poorly characterized in hop. Harnessing the publicly available hop genomics resources, we identified eight members of the PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE 1 LIKE ABA receptor family (HlPYLs). Phylogenetic and gene structure analyses classified these HlPYLs into the three canonical ABA receptor subfamilies. Furthermore, all eight HlPYLs are likely functional, as suggested by the protein sequence visual analysis. Expression profiling indicates that ABA perception in hop is primarily mediated by the HlPYL1-like and HlPYL8-like subfamilies, while the HlPYL4-like group appears to play a more limited role. Structure modeling and topology predictions of HlPYL1b and HlPYL2 provided insights into their potential functional mechanisms. To assess the physiological relevance of ABA signaling in hop, we evaluated the impact of exogenous ABA application during the ex vitro acclimatization phase. ABA-treated plants exhibited more robust growth, reduced stress symptoms, and improved acclimatization success. These effects were associated with reduced leaf transpiration and enhanced stomatal closure, consistent with ABA-mediated drought tolerance mechanisms. Altogether, this study provides the first comprehensive characterization of ABA receptor components in hop and demonstrates the practical utility of ABA in improving plant performance under ex vitro conditions. These findings lay the groundwork for further functional studies and highlight ABA signaling as a promising target for enhancing stress resilience in hop, with broader implications for sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Phytohormones in Plant Biotic/Abiotic Stress Tolerance)
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22 pages, 9819 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Analysis of bZIP Transcription Factor Family and Its Expression in Graft Healing of Soapberry (Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn.)
by Na Chen, Lixian Wang, Jing Zhong, Liming Jia and Zhong Chen
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(10), 4862; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26104862 - 19 May 2025
Viewed by 465
Abstract
The Basic Leucine Zipper (bZIP) transcription factors play a vital role in plant responses to abiotic stress. Despite being studied in various plant species, the function of the bZIP gene family in Soapberry (Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn.), a significant tree species for forestry [...] Read more.
The Basic Leucine Zipper (bZIP) transcription factors play a vital role in plant responses to abiotic stress. Despite being studied in various plant species, the function of the bZIP gene family in Soapberry (Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn.), a significant tree species for forestry biomass energy, remains unclear. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of the bZIP gene family in Soapberry, based on the observation that bZIP transcription factors were enriched in the transcriptome data of Soapberry-grafted stem segments, as revealed by both GO and KEGG analyses. For the first time, we identified 31 SmbZIPs and provided detailed information regarding their physicochemical characteristics, gene structures, protein motifs, phylogenetic relationships, cis-regulatory elements (CREs), and predicted transcriptional regulatory networks. According to our prediction of the SmbZIP-mediated regulatory network and CREs in the promoter region, SmbZIPs may be associated with plant growth and development as well as responses to mechanical wounding stress. By integrating RT-qPCR and RNA-seq analyses, we determined that the expression patterns of SmbZIPs were specific to the graft-healing stages and locations. In conclusion, our study elucidates the potential role of the bZIP gene family in responding to plant wounding stress and facilitating graft healing, thereby providing valuable insights for future functional genomics studies of Soapberry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Phytohormones in Plant Biotic/Abiotic Stress Tolerance)
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17 pages, 3174 KiB  
Article
Exogenous GA3 Enhances Nitrogen Uptake and Metabolism under Low Nitrate Conditions in ‘Duli’ (Pyrus betulifolia Bunge) Seedlings
by Weilong Zhang, Xiaohua Cheng, Zhaotian Jing, Ying Cao, Shuai Yuan, Haixia Zhang and Yuxing Zhang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(14), 7967; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25147967 - 21 Jul 2024
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1739
Abstract
‘Duli’ (Pyrus betulifolia Bunge) is one of the main rootstocks of pear trees in China. Gibberellin (GA) is a key plant hormone and the roles of GA in nitrate (NO3−) uptake and metabolism in plants remain unclear. In this [...] Read more.
‘Duli’ (Pyrus betulifolia Bunge) is one of the main rootstocks of pear trees in China. Gibberellin (GA) is a key plant hormone and the roles of GA in nitrate (NO3−) uptake and metabolism in plants remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of exogenous GA3 on the N metabolism of ‘Duli’ seedlings under NO3− deficiency. The results showed that exogenous GA3 significantly improves ‘Duli’ growth under NO3− deficiency. On the one hand, GA3 altered the root architecture, increased the content of endogenous hormones (GA3, IAA, and ZR), and enhanced photosynthesis; on the other hand, it enhanced the activities of N−metabolizing enzymes and the accumulation of N, and increased the expression levels of N absorption (PbNRT2) and the metabolism genes (PbNR, PbGILE, PbGS, and PbGOGAT). However, GA3 did not delay the degradation of chlorophyll. Paclobutrazol had the opposite effect on growth. Overall, GA3 can increase NO3− uptake and metabolism and relieve the growth inhibition of ‘Duli’ seedlings under NO3− deficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Phytohormones in Plant Biotic/Abiotic Stress Tolerance)
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