Plant Hormones in Growth, Development, and Regeneration

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 2771

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Instituto de Bioingeniería, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, 03202 Elche, Spain
Interests: adventitious roots; hormone crosstalk; cell reprogramming; plant genetics and genomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Plant Hormone Group, Department of Plant Nutrition, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo, 25, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: phytohormones; abiotic stress; rootstock physiology; root system architecture; plant nutrition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant hormones play a fundamental role in regulating growth, development and regeneration, coordinating cellular processes that shape plant life. This Plants Special Issue aims to synthesize cutting-edge research that explores the diverse roles of these signaling molecules. We invite submissions that address the complex mechanisms by which hormones such as auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, abscisic acid, ethylene and brassinosteroids influence various aspects of plant biology, from embryogenesis and organogenesis to stress responses and wound healing. We encourage studies that utilize advanced techniques in molecular biology, genetics, physiology and systems biology to unravel the complexity of hormone signaling pathways and their impact on plant plasticity and adaptability.

This collection will provide a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in the field, highlighting the potential for translational applications in crop improvement and plant biotechnology. We invite the submission of original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that contribute to our understanding of plant hormone function.

  • Growth and development;
  • Regeneration;
  • Hormone regulation;
  • Signal transduction;
  • Plant plasticity.

Prof. Dr. José Manuel Pérez Pérez
Dr. Cristina Martínez-Andújar
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • plants hormone
  • growth and development
  • regeneration
  • signal transduction

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 2363 KB  
Article
Salinity Stress Mitigation in Durum Wheat via Seed Hormonal Priming
by Manel Hmissi, Khawla Nsiri, Rihab Zagoub, Vicente Gimeno-Nieves, Abdelmajid Krouma, Mohamed Chaieb and Francisco García-Sánchez
Plants 2026, 15(7), 1103; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15071103 - 3 Apr 2026
Viewed by 529
Abstract
Seed priming is a simple, economical, and sustainable technique capable of enhancing crop resilience to abiotic stresses. A plastic greenhouse experiment was conducted on the durum wheat cultivar, Karim, sown in a 375 L volume container under semi-controlled conditions. Plots were arranged in [...] Read more.
Seed priming is a simple, economical, and sustainable technique capable of enhancing crop resilience to abiotic stresses. A plastic greenhouse experiment was conducted on the durum wheat cultivar, Karim, sown in a 375 L volume container under semi-controlled conditions. Plots were arranged in a completely randomized design regarding treatments (control, salinity) and priming agents (indole-3-acetic acid, IAA; gibberellic acid, GA3; and salicylic acid, SA). Some physiological, biochemical, and morphometric traits were analyzed at vegetative and reproductive stages. The obtained results demonstrated that salinity stress reduced plant growth and the SPAD index, hampered photosynthetic efficiency through disrupted PSII integrity and energy management in the electron transfer chain, and significantly affected ear filling (EF) and grain caliber (marked by mean weight of 100 grains, MW100G). However, seed hormonal priming allowed the alleviation of salinity stress effects on durum wheat growth and yield. Although IAA and GA3 have shown significant potential in improving durum wheat tolerance to salinity, SA was found to be the most effective priming agent. It promotes the biosynthesis of chlorophyll pigments, restores the functional integrity of PSII, enhances photosynthetic efficiency, increases plant growth, and stimulates ear filling and wheat grain development. The principal component analysis demonstrated the interdependence of the vegetative and reproductive traits and presents SA as the most effective treatment that brings plants close to control conditions, despite the salinity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Hormones in Growth, Development, and Regeneration)
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24 pages, 4390 KB  
Article
Growth and Hormonal Responses to Salicylic Acid and Calcium Chloride Seed Priming in Domestic and Wild Salt-Tolerant Barley Species Under Saline Conditions
by Rim Ben Youssef, Nahida Jelali, Purificación Andrea Martínez-Melgarejo, Alfonso Albacete, Chedly Abdelly, Francisco Pérez-Alfocea and Cristina Martínez-Andújar
Plants 2026, 15(1), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15010064 - 25 Dec 2025
Viewed by 823
Abstract
Salinity is among the main abiotic constraints limiting crop productivity worldwide. Salt tolerance can be improved by introducing adaptive traits from wild species and enhancing pre-existing salt-adaptive mechanisms through priming. This study evaluated the beneficial effect of salicylic acid (SA, 1.25 mM) and [...] Read more.
Salinity is among the main abiotic constraints limiting crop productivity worldwide. Salt tolerance can be improved by introducing adaptive traits from wild species and enhancing pre-existing salt-adaptive mechanisms through priming. This study evaluated the beneficial effect of salicylic acid (SA, 1.25 mM) and calcium chloride (CaCl2, 5 mM) seed priming on plant growth under salinity in the domestic barley Hordeum vulgare (Hv) and the wild, salt-adapted Hordeum maritimum (Hm). Primed plants were grown under control, 100 and 200 mM sodium chloride (NaCl) for two weeks. Growth and hormone profiling were performed. Hv showed higher growth inhibition than Hm but was more responsive to stress alleviation by priming, particularly with SA, which increased biomass by up to 47% at 200 mM NaCl. The contrasting responses of both species reflected distinct hormonal strategies. The intrinsic salt tolerance of Hm appears linked to high constitutive levels of stress- and growth-related hormones. In Hv, growth recovery under salinity following priming was associated with hormonal reprogramming, involving reduced abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation and enhanced levels of growth-promoting hormones (indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), trans-zeatin (tZ), and isopentenyl adenine (iP)), especially in roots. Hormonal changes mediated by priming are analyzed in relation to adaptive growth responses and species’ ecological origins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Hormones in Growth, Development, and Regeneration)
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Review

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18 pages, 1250 KB  
Review
The Role of Endogenous Hormones in Regulating Early Development of Stone Fruit
by Shuning Zhang, Yali Sun, Xiaofeng Zhou and Zhiwei Deng
Plants 2026, 15(6), 890; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15060890 - 13 Mar 2026
Viewed by 648
Abstract
Stone fruits, mainly represented by Prunus species, are economically important crops whose yield potential and final quality are largely determined during early fruit development. This early phase, encompassing pollination, fertilization, fruit set, cell division, and pit hardening, involves irreversible developmental decisions that govern [...] Read more.
Stone fruits, mainly represented by Prunus species, are economically important crops whose yield potential and final quality are largely determined during early fruit development. This early phase, encompassing pollination, fertilization, fruit set, cell division, and pit hardening, involves irreversible developmental decisions that govern fruit survival, size, and productivity. In this review, recent advances in endogenous hormonal regulation during early stone fruit development are synthesized, with emphasis on auxin, gibberellin (GA), cytokinin (CTK), and abscisic acid (ABA). Auxin and GA act as core growth-promoting signals that synergistically initiate fruit set, stimulate cell division and expansion, and support parthenocarpy development, while CTK reinforces early cell proliferation and contributes to final fruit size. In contrast, ABA primarily functions as a growth-inhibitory regulator, integrating developmental and environmental cues to promote fruit growth arrest and abscission under unfavorable conditions. These hormones interact through dynamic synergistic and antagonistic networks that are continuously reprogrammed across developmental stages and tissues. This review provides a regulatory framework for understanding hormone-mediated early fruit development in stone fruits and offers guidance for orchard management and future molecular breeding to stabilize fruit set and improve yield and quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Hormones in Growth, Development, and Regeneration)
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