REVIEW PAPER
The Role of New Members of Phytohormones
in Plant Amelioration under Abiotic Stress
with an Emphasis on Heavy Metals
More details
Hide details
1
Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
2
Bamboo Research Institute, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
3
College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
Submission date: 2019-02-27
Final revision date: 2019-04-03
Acceptance date: 2019-04-22
Online publication date: 2019-10-24
Publication date: 2020-01-16
Corresponding author
Yulong Ding
Bamboo Research Institute, Nanjing Forestry University, longpan Rd. 159, 210037, nanjing, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2020;29(2):1009-1020
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
In addition to regulating plant growth and development, phytohormones play an essential role in
the response to abiotic and biotic stress – especially heavy metal stress. In response to environmental
stressors, phytohormones act as signaling molecules in both exogenous and endogenous signaling
pathways. In parts of the rhizosphere, phytohormones have an exogenous role, and when regulating plant
growth and development, they have an endogenous role. Phytohormones and their associated signaling
pathway network are involved in plant responses to heavy metal stress. These molecules can improve
the plant defense system by increasing antioxidant enzyme activity and degrading lipoperoxidation and
H2O2. Phytohormones are divided into classical phytohormones such as auxins, ethylene, gibberellins,
and cytokinins, that have been investigated for many years and the new members, such as jasmonates,
brassinosteroids, and strigolactones, which have been little studied. In this review article, we investigated
the main mechanisms involved in the amelioration of heavy metals by the three new phytohormones to
provide more knowledge about their detoxification mechanisms.