Molecular mechanisms of root expansion in medicinal plants

Jasmonic acid signaling in plants: regulatory mechanisms in development and stress responses.

This review synthesizes the significant advancements made over the past decade in understanding JA's role in regulating plant development and mediating responses to environmental stresses, areas that lacked systematic review in previous years.

Research Advances in Molecular Mechanisms of Xylem Development in Horticultural Plants

Xylem, a critical vascular tissue extensively distributed in stems and roots, plays indispensable roles in horticultural plant development. It facilitates water and mineral transport, provides mechanical support through secondary cell wall lignification, and precisely modulates ion homeostasis (e.g., Na+/K+ balance), thereby enhancing plant resilience to abiotic stresses. Consequently, xylem function directly impacts crop yield and quality. Recent breakthroughs in molecular biology have significantly advanced our understanding of the regulatory networks governing xylem development, including key transcription factors, hormonal signaling pathways (particularly auxin, cytokinin, and brassinosteroids), and their interactions with environmental cues. This review systematically summarizes current progress on the molecular mechanisms underlying xylem differentiation, secondary wall biosynthesis, and stress-responsive vascular adaptation in horticultural species. We further discuss emerging research frontiers, existing technical challenges, and prospective directions, aiming to provide a theoretical framework for genetic improvement and precision cultivation of horticultural crops.

Adaptive roles of plant secondary metabolites under drought stress conditions

Drought stress is among the most severe environmental constraints limiting plant growth, productivity and ecosystem stability worldwide. It disrupts cellular homeostasis, impairs photosynthesis, induces oxidative damage and alters metabolite profiles. In response, plants activate coordinated physiological and metabolic responses that reprogram carbon and nitrogen allocation toward protective functions. A major component of this adaptive response is the enhanced production of plant secondary metabolites, which contribute to stress tolerance through integrated biochemical, physiological and ecological mechanisms. This review synthesizes the major classes of drought-responsive secondary metabolites including phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids and glucosinolates, and evaluates their biosynthetic pathways, regulatory networks and functional roles in drought adaptation. These metabolites contribute to antioxidant defense, membrane stabilization, osmotic adjustment, lignification and hormonal signaling, maintaining cellular homeostasis under drought stress. Their biosynthesis is coordinated through carbon and nitrogen reallocation via the shikimate, mevalonate, and methylerythritol phosphate pathways, and regulated by transcription factors, abscisic acid signaling and epigenetic modifications. Unlike previous reviews that discuss metabolite classes independently, this review integrates carbon–nitrogen allocation, metabolic trade-offs, regulatory networks and ecological interactions into a systems-level framework for understanding drought adaptation. Therefore, integrating molecular insights with breeding and metabolic engineering approaches facilitates the development of climate-resilient crops adapted to increasingly water-limited environments, supporting global food security and climate adaptation efforts.

Functional Roles of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria in Pistachio: Implications for Stress Tolerance, Nutrient Acquisition and Disease Suppression

This review critically examines the current knowledge on the functional roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria in pistachio production and identified the key knowledge gaps and research priorities required to improve the consistency, scalability, and field validation of microbiome-based approaches for sustainable pistachio production under increasingly challenging environmental conditions.

A review of ARGOS-mediated regulation of plant organ size: molecular mechanisms, environmental interactions, and agricultural implications

Plant Growth-Promoting Microorganisms (PGPMs) in Plant Tissue Culture: Roles in Regeneration, Metabolism, and Acclimatization

Plant tissue culture offers a controlled platform for biodiversity conservation, clonal propagation, and the production of bioactive compounds; however, the exclusion of natural microbial partners limits morphogenesis, aerial and root system development, and acclimatization success. Biotization with Plant Growth-Promoting Microorganisms (PGPMs) has emerged as a strategy to re-establish functional plant-microbe interactions disrupted by axenization. This review compiles advances on PGPMs in plant tissue culture, emphasizing their roles in regeneration, secondary metabolism, and acclimatization, while identifying prospects for applied biotechnology. PGPMs influence phytohormone profiles, nutrient acquisition, and defense pathways, thereby improving rhizogenesis, shoot morphogenesis, and acclimatization performance. Molecular evidence indicates that PGPMs modulate hormonal signaling and nutrient assimilation pathways, providing a mechanistic basis for these beneficial effects. Studies demonstrate that endophytic bacteria, rhizobacteria, actinomycetes, and mycorrhizal fungi can enhance regeneration efficiency and promote stress tolerance in vitro. Despite these advances, the specificity of microbial strains, colonization dynamics, and long-term stability of plant-microbe associations remain poorly resolved. Standardized inoculation protocols combined with integrative multi-omics approaches will enable the rational design of host-specific microbial consortia and accelerate the translation of PGPM-based biotization into reproducible and scalable micropropagation systems.