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Spectral Control of Stress Response in Plants
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Spectral Control of Stress Response in Plants

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 September 2026 | Viewed by 2242

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gábor Kocsy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Agricultural Institute, ELKH Centre for Agricultural Research, 2462 Martonvásár, Hungary
Interests: abiotic stress; antioxidants; cereals; reactive oxygen species; redox regulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zsolt Gulyás

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Agricultural Institute, ELKH Centre for Agricultural Research, 2462 Martonvásár, Hungary
Interests: abiotic stress; antioxidants; cereals; reactive oxygen species; redox regulation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Spatial (latitude, altitude, shade) and temporal (daily, seasonal) changes in the light spectrum play an important role in the control of stress response of plants. The alterations in the ratio of the various spectral components are sensed by the photoreceptors, and they can activate the defence processes through different signalling pathways. The redox and hormonal systems are major participants of the signal transduction. Reactive oxygen species and antioxidants adjust the redox environment, which affect the expression of the redox-responsive genes and activity of many proteins being involved in the modulation of hormone and metabolite content. However, plant hormones also affect the level of antioxidants. This mutual interaction is probably regulated by the changes in the ratio of blue, red and far-red light, and is very important for the efficient defence against environmental stresses. This Special Issue will present and discuss the effects of spectral changes on those redox- and hormone-dependent physiological, biochemical and molecular processes, which can adjust the plant growth and development in order to reduce the stress-induced damages.

Dr. Gábor Kocsy
Dr. Zsolt Gulyás
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • spectral control
  • stress response
  • light spectrum
  • photoreceptor
  • reactive oxygen
  • plant hormone
  • antioxidant
  • plant growth and development
 

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2888 KB  
Article
Involvement of the Light Signalling Components HY5 and BIC1,2 and SPA1 in Plant Responses to Elevated Daytime UV-B Doses
by Pavel Pashkovskiy, Anna Abramova, Mikhail Vereshchagin, Vladimir V. Kuznetsov and Vladimir D. Kreslavski
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(5), 2436; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27052436 - 6 Mar 2026
Viewed by 572
Abstract
Plants respond to ultraviolet B radiation (280–320 nm) with an integrated reaction that includes the reception of the acting stress factor, followed by the generation of reactive oxygen species and damage to macromolecules and membrane structures, as well as changes in cellular metabolism [...] Read more.
Plants respond to ultraviolet B radiation (280–320 nm) with an integrated reaction that includes the reception of the acting stress factor, followed by the generation of reactive oxygen species and damage to macromolecules and membrane structures, as well as changes in cellular metabolism and the formation of protective systems. However, the involvement of key UV-B–related signalling components such as HY5, SPA1 and BIC1 or BIC2 proteins in physiological, biochemical and molecular responses remains insufficiently understood. The effects of 8, 16 and 24 h of UV-B exposure (within an 8 h photoperiod over three days) on the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), chlorophyll fluorescence parameters Y(II) and Fv/Fm, reflecting the functional state of PSII, nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ), pigment contents (Chl(a+b), carotenoids, anthocyanins and UV-absorbing pigments (UAPs) and the expression of key light-induced genes in wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana and spa1, bic1,2 and hy5 mutants were studied. UV-B irradiation resulted in a gradual reduction in the Pn, Y(II), Fv/Fm values and Chl(a+b) but caused a marked increase in the anthocyanin and UAP contents and only minor changes in the carotenoid content. The hy5 mutant presented the lowest net photosynthetic rate (Pn), chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, and chlorophyll and carotenoid contents under all the UV-B exposures. In addition, the accumulation of anthocyanins and UAPs during UV-B treatment was consistently the lowest in hy5. After any UV-B exposure, the highest accumulation of UAPs and anthocyanins was observed in the spa1 mutant, whereas the highest Pn values were detected after 24 h in bic1,2. One of the reasons for the reduced photosynthetic activity and antioxidant capacity in hy5 may be the lower expression levels of CHS and PAL in this variety than in the other genotypes. Our results indicate that HY5 is required to maintain antioxidant responses and photosynthetic performance under repeated daytime UV-B exposure (16.8 kJ m−2 per day). In contrast, BIC1, BIC2, and SPA1 also contribute to UV-B tolerance, but through distinct regulatory mechanisms and to a lesser extent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spectral Control of Stress Response in Plants)
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17 pages, 7629 KB  
Article
Involvement of Phytochrome-Interacting Factors in High-Irradiance Adaptation
by Pavel Pashkovskiy, Anna Abramova, Alexandra Khudyakova, Mikhail Vereshchagin, Vladimir Kuznetsov and Vladimir D. Kreslavski
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(23), 11660; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms262311660 - 2 Dec 2025
Viewed by 812
Abstract
Phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs) are key transcriptional regulators of phytochrome signalling that coordinate photomorphogenesis and photosynthesis under different environmental conditions. PIFs play an important role in this regulation and act mainly as negative regulators of photomorphogenesis, but under high-intensity light (HIL), their functions can [...] Read more.
Phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs) are key transcriptional regulators of phytochrome signalling that coordinate photomorphogenesis and photosynthesis under different environmental conditions. PIFs play an important role in this regulation and act mainly as negative regulators of photomorphogenesis, but under high-intensity light (HIL), their functions can also include adaptive roles. We investigated the contribution of individual PIFs to the adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus in wild-type A. thaliana and pif4, pif5, pif4pif5, and pif1pif3pif4pif5 mutants exposed to HIL for 0, 16, 32, or 48 h. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (Y(II), Fv/Fm, NPQ), net photosynthesis (Pn), transpiration rates, stomatal conductance (gS), pigment contents and the expression of key genes were evaluated. The response of plants to HIL varied depending on the duration of exposure. After 16 h of irradiation, the greatest reductions in Pn and gS were observed in the pif4pif5 and pif1pif3pif4pif5 mutants, whereas after 48 h, the decreases were most pronounced in the pif4, pif5, and pif4pif5 mutants. After 16 h of HIL exposure, the absence of pif4 and pif5 did not substantially alter the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. However, after 48 h, both Y(II) and Fv/Fm were lower in these mutants than in the wild type, indicating changes in PSII functional status rather than direct reductions in photochemical quantum efficiency. At 16 h, chlorophyll levels were the highest in pif5 and WT, whereas anthocyanin and UV-absorbing pigment (UAP) levels were the highest in pif4, pif5 and WT. After 48 h, the highest levels of any pigments were detected in the WT and the pif1pif3pif4pif5 mutant. These results suggest that the accumulation of anthocyanins and UAPs under HIL is likely associated with the regulation of transcription factors, such as PIFs, de-etiolated 1 (DET1), constitutive photomorphogenic 1 (COP1), and elongated hypocotyl 5 (HY5). During prolonged HIL exposure, the absence of PIF4 and PIF5 has a critical impact on photosynthesis and the accumulation of photosynthetic pigments, whereas the simultaneous loss of PIF1, PIF3, PIF4, and PIF5 is less detrimental. This finding likely indicates opposite roles of PIF1 and PIF3 in the above-described processes, on the one hand, and PIF4 and PIF5, on the other hand, under HIL conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spectral Control of Stress Response in Plants)
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