Plant hormones articles from across Nature Portfolio

Bacterial pathogens exploit humidity to promote leaf water-soaking and infection. Here Yasuda et al. show that plants counter this by triggering CYP707A3-mediated ABA depletion, yet bacterial effectors block this defense, driving a battle for leaf water.

This study traces the origin of PYL-like proteins to bacterial symbionts, where their ABA-independent PP2C-binding ability first emerged and was subsequently maintained in land plants.

In plants, the MMC represents the precursor of the female germline. Here, the authors show that SPL/NZZ, together with ovule-identity MADS-domain transcription factors, controls MMC differentiation by acting on an auxin-dependent downstream network.

Ethylene is involved in the regulation of multiple plant growth and developmental processes. Here, the authors use a combination of genetic, molecular, and biochemical approaches to demonstrate that ethylene signaling plays a critical role in promoting branch formation while inhibiting tendril development in cucumber.

Commonly used auxin herbicides at environmentally relevant concentrations promoted the absorption and translocation of chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl sulfonate in wheat, indicating ecological risk, according to plant exposure experiments.

The apocarotenoid growth regulator zaxinone binds the Arabidopsis strigolactone receptor DWARF 14 (D14). Acting as a long-lasting antagonist, zaxinone interferes with signalling and induces strigolactone biosynthesis. This discovery broadens the ligand repertoire of D14 and raises new questions about hormone crosstalk and receptor plasticity.

Two recent studies in phylogenetically distant plants integrate a new layer of control into the canonical auxin pathway. A deeply conserved degron that affects the stability of repressors regulates transcriptional responses and plant development.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce the multimerization of Aux/IAA transcriptional repressors, and this ROS–auxin signalling connection functions as a rapid adaptive response to water deficit, inducing a temporary stop in root growth.

Plants have evolved complex regulatory mechanisms to cope with environmental challenges. Recent work reveals how distinct root cell types coordinate their specialized genetic responses to form diffusion barriers and adapt to soil stress.