Plant hormones work together to control where and how wood forms
Bhar A, Jokipii-Lukkari S, Teeri TH, Kärkönen A
Plant Signaling
The stiffening of a stressed tomato stem or the woodiness that makes asparagus tough after harvest traces back to hormonal conversations inside the plant, conversations scientists are now beginning to decode and potentially redirect for hardier, more useful crops.
Lignin is the natural compound that makes wood solid, gives celery its strings, and stiffens plant stems under stress. Plants don't build it at random; a whole suite of hormones coordinates to decide when, where, and how much lignin gets laid down. Scientists are now mapping how those hormones talk to each other, with the goal of helping growers produce plants that handle drought better or yield fiber that's easier to process into paper and materials.
Key Findings
Multiple plant hormones regulate lignin production through layered gene-control networks, but how those hormones interact with each other remains largely uncharted
Reactive oxygen species, molecular byproducts of stress and normal metabolism, act as connectors linking hormonal signals directly to lignin-building activity
Understanding hormonal crosstalk in lignification could enable engineering of crops with improved stress tolerance and lignin profiles optimized for industrial applications such as biofuels and paper
chevron_right Technical Summary
Plants produce lignin to build woody, rigid tissue, and a suite of hormones controls when and where this happens. This review maps what's known about how those hormones interact, identifying reactive oxygen species as a key bridge between hormonal signals and lignin production, and points toward practical uses in engineering stress-tolerant crops and plants with tailored fiber properties.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Hormonal crosstalk in the regulation of lignification: where do we stand?
Lignification is a central process affecting plant growth, development, and stress responses. An intricate network of hormonal signals tightly regulates these processes. Several phytohormones have ...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Gene editing removes 97% of celiac-triggering proteins from bread wheat
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...
Crop-improvement refers to the systematic enhancement of plant varieties through selective breeding, genetic modification, and biotechnological approaches to develop cultivars with superior agronomic, nutritional, or environmental traits. This field is essential for addressing global food security,
arrow_forward Explore topic