Plants use melatonin as an internal stress-survival switch
Hussain B, Colgecen H, Karahan H, Fariduddin Q
Plant Signaling
If you've ever watched a stressed tomato plant perk up after a seaweed or melatonin-based foliar spray, this is the biology behind why it works: the plant is retooling its own chemistry to cope.
Melatonin isn't just something that helps you sleep, it's also made by plants and acts like an internal alarm system during tough conditions like drought or extreme temperatures. When stress hits, melatonin tells the plant to produce more protective compounds, mop up harmful molecules, and adjust its energy and chemical production lines to stay alive. Researchers are now using advanced chemical analysis tools to map exactly how this works, hoping to eventually help farmers grow tougher, more productive crops.
Key Findings
Melatonin coordinates with reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, and plant hormones to regulate stress-response gene expression and metabolite production.
It reprograms both primary metabolism (energy, amino acids, carbohydrates) and secondary metabolism (defense compounds) to boost osmoprotectant and antioxidant accumulation under stress.
Combining metabolomics with transcriptomics and proteomics (using LC-MS, GC-MS, and NMR) reveals melatonin's full regulatory network, offering a roadmap for engineering stress-resilient crops.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Melatonin, a natural compound found in plants, helps them survive drought, heat, cold, and other stresses by rewiring their internal chemistry and boosting antioxidant defenses. Scientists are studying this as a way to breed or treat crops for better resilience.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Melatonin-mediated metabolic reprogramming and stress adaptation in plants.
Melatonin acts as a multifunctional regulator of plant stress adaptation by reprogramming primary and secondary metabolism and coordinating ROS, nitric oxide, and phytohormone signalling. Integrati...
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.
Targeted knockout of a host peroxisomal peptidase confers field resistance to...
The corn in your grocery store and the staple food keeping millions of East African families fed is under serious threat from a viral disease that can wipe o...
Climate adaptation in plants refers to the physiological and evolutionary mechanisms through which plants adjust to changing environmental conditions, including temperature shifts, altered precipitation patterns, and seasonal variations. Understanding these processes is essential for plant science
arrow_forward Explore topic