Fig. 8: A new hypothetical model of melatonin biosynthesis regulated by other phytohormones.

Some upstream signals cause hickory to accumulate more ethylene and abscisic acid, which in turn upregulate the expression of CcEIN3 and CcAZF2, respectively. EIN3 and AZF2 directly promote the expression of CcTDC1 and CcASMT1, respectively, and increase the melatonin content, thus inducing the activation of signal responses