Abiotic pressures (such as heavy metals, drought, radiation, salts, pesticides, temperature, freezing, etc.) and biotic stressors (such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, insects, and weeds) are major stress factors that collectively limit agricultural productivity worldwide. Plants face a wide range of environmental pressures, which are expected to become more severe in the future due to population explosion and global climate change. In contrast to animals, plants are sessile and can’t escape the dynamic environmentally-induced changes and continuously cease growth and yield. Nevertheless, the plants’ architecture and growth are affected by the action of various phytohormones biosynthesized endogenously in plants or applied exogenously. The use of different kinds of nanoparticles (NPs) in the present times is gaining attention due to their pronounced effects on plant growth and development under optimal or abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Phytohormones and NPs are structurally diverse signaling elicitors that act usually at lower concentrations in crop plants. Phytohormones include five groups of “classic” hormones, namely auxins, cytokinins (CK), gibberellins (GAs), abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene. Jasmonates (JA), salicylates (SA), strigolactones (SL), brassinosteroids (BR), polyamines and some peptides were recognized as new families of phytohormones.
Recent evidence supports the contention that both phytohormones and NPs build a signaling network and mutually modulate several signaling and metabolic systems under plant responses to abiotic and biotic stress resistance. Several earlier studies greatly enhanced our knowledge of how phytohormones and NPs affect plant growth and development under myriads of abiotic and biotic stresses. However, various underlying physiological and biochemical processes are regulated in a complex way by the cross-talk of several NPs and phytohormones. In the past decade, exogenous application of phytohormones and NPs has emerged as an alternative strategy to induce abiotic and biotic stress resistance. Therefore, in this Research Topic, we aim to collect a comprehensive set of original research and review papers focused on the following aspects but not restricted to:
• The role of phytohormones and various forms of NPs, their regulation in crop plants under optimal and abiotic and biotic stress conditions
• The impacts/effects of various phytohormones and NPs on plants’ physiological, biochemical and molecular aspects
• Regulatory/modulatory role of phytohormones and NPs in engineering resistance to various abiotic and biotic pressures in plants
• Mediation of osmoregulation in plants under abiotic stress and biotic stress by phytohormones and NPs
• Cross talk between NPs and phytohormones under various abiotic and biotic stresses
• Molecular dissections of various underlying mechanisms of phytohormones/NPs’ signaling and their crosstalk
• Regulatory interactions of various types of NPs and phytohormones under optimal or stressful environmental conditions
• New and emerging approaches/techniques to identify/detect NPs and phytohormones-mediated pathways to develop resistance against various abiotic and biotic stresses
• Unravelling the action of plants through omics-based approaches under the application of NPs and phytohormones
Abiotic pressures (such as heavy metals, drought, radiation, salts, pesticides, temperature, freezing, etc.) and biotic stressors (such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, insects, and weeds) are major stress factors that collectively limit agricultural productivity worldwide. Plants face a wide range of environmental pressures, which are expected to become more severe in the future due to population explosion and global climate change. In contrast to animals, plants are sessile and can’t escape the dynamic environmentally-induced changes and continuously cease growth and yield. Nevertheless, the plants’ architecture and growth are affected by the action of various phytohormones biosynthesized endogenously in plants or applied exogenously. The use of different kinds of nanoparticles (NPs) in the present times is gaining attention due to their pronounced effects on plant growth and development under optimal or abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Phytohormones and NPs are structurally diverse signaling elicitors that act usually at lower concentrations in crop plants. Phytohormones include five groups of “classic” hormones, namely auxins, cytokinins (CK), gibberellins (GAs), abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene. Jasmonates (JA), salicylates (SA), strigolactones (SL), brassinosteroids (BR), polyamines and some peptides were recognized as new families of phytohormones.
Recent evidence supports the contention that both phytohormones and NPs build a signaling network and mutually modulate several signaling and metabolic systems under plant responses to abiotic and biotic stress resistance. Several earlier studies greatly enhanced our knowledge of how phytohormones and NPs affect plant growth and development under myriads of abiotic and biotic stresses. However, various underlying physiological and biochemical processes are regulated in a complex way by the cross-talk of several NPs and phytohormones. In the past decade, exogenous application of phytohormones and NPs has emerged as an alternative strategy to induce abiotic and biotic stress resistance. Therefore, in this Research Topic, we aim to collect a comprehensive set of original research and review papers focused on the following aspects but not restricted to:
• The role of phytohormones and various forms of NPs, their regulation in crop plants under optimal and abiotic and biotic stress conditions
• The impacts/effects of various phytohormones and NPs on plants’ physiological, biochemical and molecular aspects
• Regulatory/modulatory role of phytohormones and NPs in engineering resistance to various abiotic and biotic pressures in plants
• Mediation of osmoregulation in plants under abiotic stress and biotic stress by phytohormones and NPs
• Cross talk between NPs and phytohormones under various abiotic and biotic stresses
• Molecular dissections of various underlying mechanisms of phytohormones/NPs’ signaling and their crosstalk
• Regulatory interactions of various types of NPs and phytohormones under optimal or stressful environmental conditions
• New and emerging approaches/techniques to identify/detect NPs and phytohormones-mediated pathways to develop resistance against various abiotic and biotic stresses
• Unravelling the action of plants through omics-based approaches under the application of NPs and phytohormones