Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 4 — Narrative / commentaryPeer-reviewed

Plant hormones and secondary metabolites under environmental stresses: enlightening defense molecules

Kumari S, Nazir F, Maheshwari C, et al

Plant Physiol Biochem · 2024.0

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Summary

This narrative review, published in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, examines the roles of plant hormones (such as abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and ethylene) and secondary metabolites in mediating plant responses to environmental stresses including drought, heat, salinity, and pathogen attack. The paper likely explores the molecular crosstalk between hormone signalling pathways and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, framing these compounds as coordinated defence molecules. It is inferred to provide a synthesis of current understanding rather than original experimental data, drawing on existing literature to clarify mechanistic relationships.

UK applicability

Whilst this review is not specific to UK conditions, its findings are broadly applicable to UK crop production, particularly in the context of increasing climate variability and associated abiotic stresses such as drought and temperature extremes. Understanding plant stress physiology has practical relevance for UK plant breeding, agronomy, and the development of stress-resilient crop varieties.

Key measures

Plant hormone concentrations and signalling pathways; secondary metabolite profiles (e.g. phenolics, alkaloids, terpenoids); stress response mechanisms; gene expression patterns associated with defence

Outcomes reported

The review examines how plants deploy hormones and secondary metabolites in response to abiotic and biotic environmental stresses, elucidating their roles as signalling and defence molecules. It likely synthesises evidence on the regulation, crosstalk, and functional significance of these compounds under stress conditions.

Theme
Climate & resilience
Subject
Plant stress physiology & biochemistry
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Global
System type
Crop production (general)
DOI
10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.108238
Catalogue ID
WP0093

Topic tags

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