<div style="text-align:justify;"> Melatonin and dopamine can potentially prevent waterlogging stress in apples. &nbsp;The current study investigated the mechanism by which melatonin and dopamine alleviate apple waterlogging stress. &nbsp;This study demonstrated that melatonin and dopamine alleviated waterlogging by removing reactive oxygen species (ROS), and that the nitric oxide (NO) content and nitrate reductase (NR) activity were significantly correlated. &nbsp;Melatonin and dopamine were also found to recruit different candidate beneficial endophytes (melatonin: <i>Novosphingobium</i>, <i>Propionivibrio</i>, and <i>Cellvibrio</i>; dopamine: <i>Hydrogenophaga</i>, <i>Simplicispira</i>, <i>Methyloversatilis</i>, <i>Candidatus_Kaiserbacteria</i>, and <i>Humicola</i>), and these endophytes were significantly and positively correlated with plant growth. &nbsp;Network analyses showed that melatonin and dopamine significantly affected the endophytic bacterial and fungal communities under waterlogging stress. &nbsp;The metabolomic results showed that melatonin and dopamine led to waterlogging resistance by upregulating the abundance of beneficial substances such as amino acids, flavonoids, coumarins, and organic acids. &nbsp;In addition, melatonin and dopamine regulated the physicochemical properties of the soil, which altered the endophyte community and affected plant growth. &nbsp;The co-occurrence network demonstrated close and complex relationships among endophytes, metabolites, soil, and the plants. &nbsp;Our results demonstrate that melatonin and dopamine alleviate waterlogging stress in apples by recruiting beneficial endophytes to enhance physiological resilience. &nbsp;This study provides new insights into how melatonin and dopamine alleviate stress and a theoretical basis for synergistic beneficial microbial resistance to waterlogging stress.</div><p> <br></p>

Acetoin is a volatile organic compound, which is a class of metabolites produced by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. The mechanisms underlying plant growth promotion by acetoin and its potential to induce saline stress tolerance in plants are poorly understood. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. ramosa Hort.) seedlings in hydronics and pots under non-saline or saline conditions were foliar-sprayed with 10 mL of 0 or 1 mg·mL−1 acetoin at 7 and 14 d after transplantation and harvested 7 d after the second spray. Shoots and roots of hydroponic lettuce seedlings were harvested at 6 and 24 h after treatment for RNA sequencing. Seedlings sprayed with acetoin showed more vigorous growth, with higher shoot and root biomass than those of the controls, in both hydronic and pot modes. The transcriptomic analysis revealed acetoin application resulted in 177 differentially expressed genes (39 upregulated and 138 downregulated) in shoots and 397 differentially expressed genes (112 upregulated and 285 downregulated) in roots. These DEGs, mainly involved in plant hormone signal transduction and the mitogen-activated protein kinase, have the potential to trigger plants’ responses to various environmental stimuli, including stress and developmental signals. Under saline conditions, acetoin-treated plants showed increased net leaf photosynthesis and activities of several defense enzymes, indicating that acetoin enhances both fundamental growth and the plant’s stress defenses, especially against salinity. In summary, acetoin appears to act through a complex interplay of genetic and biochemical mechanisms, influencing key signaling pathways and physiological processes that lead to improved growth and stress tolerance in lettuce seedlings.

Plant structure-related agronomic traits like plant height and leaf size are critical for growth, development, and crop yield. Defining the types of genes involved in regulating plant structure size is essential for the molecular-assisted breeding of peppers. This research conducted comparative transcriptome analyses using Capsicum baccatum germplasm HNUCB0112 and HNUCB0222 and their F2 generation as materials. A total of 6574 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected, which contain 379 differentially expressed transcription factors, mainly including transcription factor families such as TCP, WRKY, AUX/IAA, and MYB. Seven classes of DEGs were annotated in the plant hormone signal transduction pathway, including indole acetic acid (IAA), gibberellin (GA), cytokinin (CK), abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA), ethylene (ET), and salicylic acid (SA). The 26 modules were obtained by WGCNA analysis, and the MEpink module was positively correlated with plant height and leaf size, and hub genes associated with plant height and leaf size were anticipated. Differential genes were verified by qRT-PCR, which was consistent with the RNA-Seq results, demonstrating the accuracy of the sequencing results. These results enhance our understanding of the developmental regulatory networks governing pepper key traits like plant height and leaf size and offer new information for future research on the pepper plant architecture system.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the function of salinity or jasmonic acid (JA) in plant growth and senescence. This study evaluated how the combination of salinity and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) (SaM) worked as a novel stress and then regulated plant growth in Arabidopsis. Firstly, we found that compared with MeJA or NaCl treatment alone, SaM would significantly intensified plant growth inhibition and senescence in wild-type (WT) seedlings, and these phenotypes could be partially compromised after SaM stress in JA-insensitive mutants. Meanwhile, genes involved in JA signaling and Senescence Associated Gene 13 (SAG13) were dramatically increased by SaM stress than that by MeJA or NaCl alone in WT. Moreover, a group of secondary metabolite - indolic glucosinolates (IGs) showed obvious over-accumulation after SaM treatment than that after each single one in WT, and the seedlings treated with IGs' metabolites performed similar inhibited growth and chlorotic leaves phenotypes compared with those caused by SaM stress. All these indicated the toxicity of IGs and their metabolites would prevent the growth progress of plants. Therefore, we concluded that SaM worked as a novel stress and intensified plant growth inhibition and senescence, which was dependent on JA-dependent and -independent signaling pathways.Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

To respond to abiotic stresses, plants have developed specific mechanisms that allow them to rapidly perceive and respond to environmental changes. The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) was shown to be a pivotal regulator of abiotic stress responses in plants, triggering major changes in plant physiology. The ABA core signaling pathway largely relies on the activation of SnRK2 kinases to mediate several rapid responses, including gene regulation, stomatal closure, and plant growth modulation. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) have also been implicated in ABA signaling, but an entire ABA-activated MAPK module was uncovered only recently. In this review, we discuss the evidence for a role of MAPK modules in the context of different plant ABA signaling pathways.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.