The hormone that helps plants fight bugs, drought, and heat
Wang R, Manda T, Movahedi A, Yang L
Plant Signaling
The chewed leaf on your tomato plant or the roses that toughen up after a heat wave are running on the same hormone signal, and understanding it explains why stressed plants often defend themselves better.
Plants make a stress hormone called jasmonic acid when they're chewed on, infected, or starved of water. It flips a molecular switch that tells the plant to build defenses, slow its growth, and even time things like seed sprouting and leaf aging. Scientists now see it working alongside other hormones to help plants handle drought, salty soil, and temperature swings, which could lead to hardier crops.
Key Findings
The COI1-JAZ-MYC complex acts as the master switch of jasmonic acid signaling, controlling seed germination, root elongation, and leaf senescence.
JAZ proteins help regulate defense against insects and pathogens by modulating secondary metabolites, reactive oxygen species, and defense gene expression.
Recent evidence shows jasmonic acid coordinates with other hormones, regulatory genes, and metabolites to manage drought, salinity, and temperature stress, offering routes to improve crop resilience and productivity.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Jasmonic acid is a plant hormone that acts as a master switch for growth, defense against insects and disease, and survival in drought, salt and temperature extremes. A decade of research now points to ways of using it to breed tougher, more productive crops.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Jasmonic acid signaling in plants: regulatory mechanisms in development and stress responses.
Jasmonic acid (JA), one of the most pivotal plant hormones, has emerged as a central focus in plant biology research due to its extensive and diverse biological functions. This review synthesizes t...
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