Environmental and Experimental Botany最新文献

{"title":"Physiological and transcriptomic dissection of submergence tolerance in cabbage highlights ERF-VII and N-degron regulation","authors":"Shih-Jie Huang,&nbsp;Yu-Lin Wu,&nbsp;Hsuan-Ting Liu,&nbsp;Tze-Ching Chan,&nbsp;Chun-Hao Hu,&nbsp;Chi-Ling Ku,&nbsp;Fu-Chiun Hsu","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106288","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106288","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change-driven flooding threatens cabbage (<em>Brassica oleracea</em> var. <em>capitata</em>) cultivation, yet the mechanisms underlying its submergence tolerance remain poorly understood. Here, we present an integrative analysis combining physiological measurements and time-course transcriptome profiling on cabbage cultivars with contrasting submergence tolerance, aiming to identify candidate regulatory modules potentially unique to <em>Brassica</em> submergence responses. The submergence-tolerant cultivar ‘Fuyudori’ demonstrated superior growth performance, antioxidative capacity, and a higher induction of glycolytic genes compared to the submergence-sensitive cultivar ‘228’. Consistently, transcriptome profiling revealed distinct transcriptional patterns between ‘Fuyudori’ and ‘228’ under submergence, particularly in genes related to translation and transcriptional regulation, suggesting their involvement in mediating submergence tolerance. Furthermore, ten cabbage homologs of group VII ethylene response factors (ERF-VIIs) harboring characteristic ERF domains and conserved N-terminal motifs were identified, among which BoERF71 and BoRAP2.12 were confirmed as substrates of the N-degron pathway. In ‘Fuyudori’, these ERF-VII genes displayed higher transcript levels and greater hypoxia-induced protein accumulation, enabling stronger activation of hypoxia-responsive genes such as <em>BoADH1</em> and <em>BoSUS1L</em>. Our results suggest that elevated expression and stronger hypoxia-induced accumulation of BoERF-VIIs are associated with enhanced submergence tolerance. This work provides the first detailed molecular insight into cabbage submergence responses and lays a foundation for breeding submergence-tolerant <em>Brassica</em> crops.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"241 ","pages":"Article 106288"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145645920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Heat stress accelerates the development of hypoxia and hypoxia-induced ferroptosis-like cell death in barley root tip under waterlogging","authors":"Ľubica Liptáková,&nbsp;Beáta Bočová,&nbsp;Loriana Demecsová,&nbsp;Katarína Valentovičová,&nbsp;Veronika Zelinová,&nbsp;Ladislav Tamás","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106306","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106306","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The root tip is extremely sensitive to waterlogging, where the hypoxic conditions evoke an extensive cell death within a few hours. Using a pharmacological approach, we demonstrated that hypoxia-induced cell death in barley root tips exhibits several key features of ferroptosis, including iron-dependent ROS generation, enhanced lipoxygenase activity and lipid peroxidation. We also observed that calcium influx from the apoplast into the cytoplasm played a critical role in the initiation of ferroptosis-like cell death. In the prevention of hypoxia-induced root death, the most effective were the iron chelator deferoxamine, the lipoxygenase inhibitor naproxen and the Ca^2 + chelator EGTA. Hypoxia-induced lipid peroxidation and cell death started in the root transition zone, including the surrounding meristem and elongation zones, and subsequently spread to nearly the entire root tip. Heat stress accelerated the onset and development of hypoxia in waterlogged barley root tips, consequently also accelerating the progression of root cell death. This waterlogging/hypoxia-induced ferroptosis-like cell death in barley root tips was triggered within 1–2 h, even at a moderately elevated temperature of 30 °C, indicating that climate changes leading to the co-occurrence of high temperature and heavy rainfall in the future may be detrimental to crop production, including barley.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"241 ","pages":"Article 106306"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145920947","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water use in mangroves: Understanding how wood day capacitance varies under salinity in the Sundarbans","authors":"Md. Qumruzzaman Chowdhury,&nbsp;Swapan Kumar Sarker,&nbsp;Md. Imam Hossain Imran,&nbsp;Kamrul Hasan Bhuiyan,&nbsp;Rabeya Sultana,&nbsp;Md. Shamim Reza Saimun,&nbsp;Anup Datta","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106303","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106303","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mangroves are carbon-rich ecosystems that offer vital goods and services, particularly acting as a barrier to natural disasters, such as storms and tidal surges. However, mangroves around the world are experiencing increasing salinity stress due to global change, such as sea level rise, altered precipitation patterns, and increasing temperature. Wood day capacitance (WDC)−the temporary water release from wood to sustain hydraulic supply for carbon assimilation and transpiration−influences daily water use and tree growth under hydraulic stress. Although understanding species-specific WDC variation along environmental gradients is important to predict how species could adapt under increasing environmental stress, such knowledge is limited for mangroves. Here, we examine (i) how WDC and physiological variables (e.g., leaf water potential) vary in two dominant mangrove species (<em>Exocecaria agallocha</em> and <em>Heritiera fomes</em>) across three (low, medium, and high) salinity zones in the Bangladesh Sundarbans and (ii) how ecophysiological variables and wood density influence WDC variation. Our results reveal that (i) in less-stressed habitats (i.e., low salinity zone), both species exhibit higher WDC and cumulative water release (CWR) with less negative leaf water potential that enable them to maintain hydraulic functions under variable salinity conditions; (ii) compared to shade tolerant <em>H. fomes,</em> light demanding <em>E. agallocha</em> has higher WDC and low wood density that help in rapid resource acquisition, and (iii) salinity modulates WDC to buffer water stress, an adaptation strategy to avoid water deficits. The results suggest that WDC contributes to the diurnal water balance in mangroves in relation to environmental change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"241 ","pages":"Article 106303"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145920948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revealing the drought-induced variations in rice water use strategy through a hydraulic-based stomatal optimization model","authors":"Rui Zhu ,&nbsp;Tiesong Hu ,&nbsp;Donghui Wan ,&nbsp;Yulei Xie ,&nbsp;Xiang Zeng ,&nbsp;Shan Zhou ,&nbsp;Yong Liu ,&nbsp;Peiran Jing ,&nbsp;Qifan Zhang ,&nbsp;Duo Liang","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106297","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106297","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Effects of drought on rice’s water use strategies and how these variations are linked to stress-induced physiological changes are poorly understood. This study developed a stomatal optimization model and proposed a model-based analytical framework for evaluating the variations in rice water use strategies in response to drought. We applied this approach to water deficit experiments on rice, with mild, moderate, and severe water deficit treatments representing 70 %, 60 %, and 50 % of the field water capacity (FC), respectively. Water deficit co-limited the photosynthetic capacity and water transport capacity of rice, accompanied by adaptation in water use strategies. These stress-induced physiological changes enhanced the long-term hydraulic safety in some treatments, while increasing long-term carbon gain in others. Rice that suffered severe water deficit (i.e., 50 % FC) exhibited a more anisohydric water use strategy during the post-stress period. The model predicts that while anisohydric water use strategy reduces future soil water availability, larger stomatal opening compensates for the impaired photosynthesis caused by irreversible physiological damage and thus contributes to long-term carbon gains. This work emphasizes the adaptability of plant water use strategies to the environment, which has important implications for modeling and predicting water productivity and water use efficiency of crops or other ecosystems under changing environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"241 ","pages":"Article 106297"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145787697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Linking stomatal function with photosynthetic light reactions and stress response in faba bean","authors":"Alexey Shapiguzov ,&nbsp;Matleena Punkkinen ,&nbsp;Tuomo Laine ,&nbsp;Satu Engström ,&nbsp;Pedro J. Aphalo ,&nbsp;Hamid Khazaei","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106290","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106290","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Faba bean (<em>Vicia faba</em> L.) is a key protein crop, but its cultivation and yield stability are hindered by a number of environmental stresses. Stomata regulate gas exchange between the plant and atmosphere, playing a central role in photosynthesis and mediating plant responses to a wide range of environmental stressors. This study aimed to investigate variations in photosynthetic regulation in faba bean, and to examine leaf temperature and the response to short-term acute ozone (O₃) exposure as proxies for stomatal function. Here, we used a high-throughput plant phenotyping (HTPP) platform to screen 196 faba bean genotypes for photosynthetic and stomatal function under controlled conditions. A subset of extreme genotypes, identified based on relative leaf tempreture from the initial screening, was exposed to a 450 ppb O₃ treatment. Our results revealed strong positive relationship between photosynthetic efficiency and relative leaf temperature. A three-fold difference in relative leaf temperature was observed among genotypes. The O₃ treatment caused signicantly less damage in genotypes with higher leaf temperature compared to those with lower leaf temperature (p &lt; 0.001). By combining a HTPP platform with elevated O₃ stress treatment, we identified faba bean genotypes with contrasting stomatal responses to the O₃ exposure. Our results advance understanding of the regulation mechanisms of photosynthetic light reactions and the role of stomatal function in modulating faba bean responses to environmental stressors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"241 ","pages":"Article 106290"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145683294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond light quantity: Intermittent shading affects growth and yield more than constant shading in rice cultivars","authors":"Laura Lescroart ,&nbsp;Frédéric Boudon ,&nbsp;Christine Granier ,&nbsp;Michael Dingkuhn ,&nbsp;Raphael P.A. Perez","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106301","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106301","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant responses to shade are often studied under constant light reduction, but rarely under intermittent shading which is frequent in natural environments and multilayered systems such as agrivoltaics and agroforestry. We investigated in controlled environments how a 38 % reduction in daily radiation, applied either continuously or as several intermittent periods per day, affected morphology, phenology, aboveground biomass, yield components, and photosynthetic traits of 14 rice cultivars. Plants were grown under full light with 24 MJ m⁻² day⁻¹ , and both shading treatments received the same daily light integral. On average, continuous shading reduced grain yield by 28 % and aboveground biomass by 27 %, whereas intermittent shading resulted in greater decreases, by 32 % and 31 %, respectively. Yield losses were mainly attributed to reduced tillering and to a lesser extent to 1000-kernel weight. Growth reduction was sub-proportional to light resources, indicating increased incident radiation use efficiency under shading. However, this increase was less pronounced under intermittent shading, chiefly attributable to the curvi-linear response of photosynthesis to light. Furthermore, a decrease in the maximum electron transport rate under intermittent shading conditions suggested reduced photosynthetic capacity as well. Despite substantial variation among cultivars in morphology and photosynthetic parameters under full light, none of these traits predicted differential responses to shading regimes. These findings highlight that diurnal light distribution strongly influences crop performance, beyond the effects of mean light reduction. Consideration of intermittent shading is thus crucial for understanding and modeling plant responses in multilayered systems such as agrivoltaics, intercropping, and agroforestry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"241 ","pages":"Article 106301"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145920949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"UV radiation and reduced rainfall: Legacy effects on litter and first-year decomposition in two Mediterranean evergreen shrubs","authors":"Claudia Rodríguez-Hidalgo ,&nbsp;Laura Llorens ,&nbsp;Anna Doménech-Pascual ,&nbsp;Anna M. Romaní ,&nbsp;Josep-Abel González ,&nbsp;Dolors Verdaguer","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106307","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106307","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climatic models for the Mediterranean Basin predict higher ultraviolet (UV) radiation and drier conditions by century’s end, potentially altering litter traits, early-stage decomposition, and nutrient cycling. This study investigates how UV radiation (UV-B and UV-A) and reduced rainfall influence leaf litter characteristics and its decomposition in two evergreen sclerophyllous Mediterranean species, <em>Arbutus unedo</em> and <em>Phillyrea angustifolia,</em> growing in a natural shrubland. A field litterbag decomposition experiment was conducted using litter from plants growing in eighteen 9 m² plots arranged in three blocks. For six years, plots experienced one of three UV radiation conditions: ambient UV, without ambient UV-B, and without ambient UV, combined with two rainfall levels (natural or reduced). Treatments altered the initial leaf litter chemistry. In <em>A. unedo,</em> UV-B exposure decreased the leaf carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio (due to higher N) under natural rainfall, while in <em>P. angustifolia</em>, mainly UV-A radiation increased this ratio. Over the studied decomposition period (374 days), leaf litter mass loss in both species was limited, but <em>P. angustifolia</em> litter lost more mass (11 %) than <em>A. unedo</em> litter (3 %), likely due to a lower C/N ratio and a higher microbial activity. UV-A and UV-B radiation affected early litter decomposition in both species by altering recalcitrant compounds and/or microbial biomass, though effects on <em>A. unedo</em> depended on the rainfall amount. Overall, UV radiation appeared to inhibit rather than stimulate decomposition, thus not supporting a predominant role of UV radiation-induced photodegradation. Hence, future climate change may exacerbate present UV and drought effects on litter decomposition, slowing down decomposition rates and enhancing C accumulation in Mediterranean ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"241 ","pages":"Article 106307"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145920950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distinct physiological “toolkits” underlie divergent heavy metal resistance in rice subspecies Japonica and Indica","authors":"Yiling Miao ,&nbsp;Xuefeng Xu ,&nbsp;Mengyao Qi ,&nbsp;Ying Kang ,&nbsp;Bingqi Zhang ,&nbsp;Shan Lu ,&nbsp;Yuanjie Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhihe Zhang ,&nbsp;Lili Jiang ,&nbsp;Ying Wu ,&nbsp;Chunwu Yang ,&nbsp;Bao Liu ,&nbsp;Xiufang Ou","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106275","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106275","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Heavy metal contamination threatens crop yield and food safety. Rice (<em>Oryza sativa</em> L.), a staple food crop for approximately half of the world’s population, must maintain its yield and quality, despite being grown in paddy fields contaminated by heavy metals. The genetic differences underlying biology in general and agronomic performance in particular between the two subspecies of rice, <em>japonica</em> and <em>indica</em>, have been intensively studied, but their responses to multiple heavy metal stresses remain poorly understood. This study investigated the divergent heavy metal resistance mechanisms between <em>japonica</em> (cv. Nipponbare, hereafter referred to as Nip) and <em>indica</em> (cv. 9311) under Cd, Cu, Mn, Zn, and Fe stress conditions. Survival assays revealed novel subspecies-specific tolerance patterns: Nip exhibited greater tolerance to Cd, Mn, Zn, and Fe, with significantly higher survival rates (e.g., 100 % vs. 0 % under Mn after 28 days) compared to 9311, which only showed marginally greater tolerance to Cu (5.3 % survival after 55 days). Physiologically, we identified divergent spatiotemporal “toolkits” underlying resistance: Nip prioritized root-centric osmoprotection via soluble sugar accumulation and early activation of shoot POD/CAT enzymes to mitigate oxidative damage, while 9311 relied on shoot-oriented soluble sugar/proline accumulation and late-phase POD/SOD induction. Critically, we established root metal sequestration as a key mechanism in Nip, which restricted Cd/Cu/Mn translocation to shoots, reducing grain metal accumulation and safeguarding crop safety. In contrast, 9311 exhibited enhanced shoot-oriented metal redistribution, exacerbated aerial toxicity, and risked yield loss under prolonged stress. These findings have advanced understanding by revealing that subspecies-specific adaptation arises from coordinated regulation of osmolyte/antioxidant dynamics and metal partitioning strategies, providing a mechanistic basis for targeted breeding to improve crop resilience in metal-polluted fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"241 ","pages":"Article 106275"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145645921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unveiling the impact of heat and drought stress on plant reproductive tissues","authors":"Yueheng Zhou ,&nbsp;Muhammad Ali ,&nbsp;Xiaohui Ma ,&nbsp;Tianxia Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106283","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106283","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reproductive development in plants is highly sensitive to heat and drought stress, which are exacerbated by climate change and pose significant threats to global crop productivity. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying plant responses to heat and drought stress during reproductive stages, with an emphasis on the critical role of transcriptomic approaches. Traditional bulk RNA methods have revealed extensive gene regulatory networks activated during stress, highlighting the complexity of responses across developmental phases and species-specific adaptations. However, these methods obscure cellular and tissue heterogeneity, limiting the resolution of key regulatory processes. Recent advances in single-cell and single-nucleus RNA sequencing have unraveled the spatiotemporal dynamics and post-transcriptional regulation underpinning stress resilience at unprecedented resolution, particularly in vegetative tissues. While the application of these advanced technologies to reproductive organs remains little explored, leaving important gaps in understanding the mechanisms driving stress-induced male sterility. We propose an integrative framework linking early stress sensing in vegetative tissues to transcriptional and post-transcriptional reprogramming in reproductive organs, highlighting the role of single-cell and multi-omics approaches in resolving tissue-specific regulatory mechanisms that determine fertility under combined heat and drought stress. We argue that future research should focus on integrating multi-omics datasets and expanding single-cell analyses in reproductive tissues to characterize translational control mechanisms and the epigenetic memory of stress. Such integrative efforts are imperative for identifying stage-specific protective strategies and for developing climate-resilient crops with enhanced reproductive success under heat and drought stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"241 ","pages":"Article 106283"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145645917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Brassinosteroids (BRs) and photomorphogenesis: Hormonal regulation of light-mediated plant development","authors":"Hakim Manghwar ,&nbsp;Amjad Hussain ,&nbsp;Intikhab Alam ,&nbsp;Siqi Fan ,&nbsp;Guanghua Sun ,&nbsp;Fen Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106298","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106298","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To adapt to varying environmental conditions, plants have developed complex mechanisms to optimize growth and development throughout their lifecycles. Light is the primary energy source that drives photosynthesis and act as an environmental signal, which is involved in regulating various plant physiological functions. Plants detect changes in external light conditions through multiple photoreceptors. Photomorphogenesis is characterized by the opening and expansion of the cotyledon, suppression of hypocotyl elongation, and the development of proplastids into fully mature chloroplasts in response to light. The Brassinosteroids (BRs) are polyhydroxylated steroidal hormones—important for plant growth, development, and productivity, including photomorphogenesis. While promoting hypocotyl elongation, BRs fine-tune light-responsive photomorphogenesis in plants. Since BRs are eco-friendly and non-toxic phytohormones, they promote plant adaptability to changing environmental conditions and various biotic and abiotic stresses, thereby maintaining ecological equilibrium. Light and BR antagonistically regulate the transition from skotomorphogenesis in darkness to photomorphogenesis in light. Photomorphogenic repressors, such as Arabidopsis (<em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em>) G-protein β subunit (AGB1), PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs), and CONSTITUTIVELY PHOTOMORPHOGENIC PROTEIN 1 (COP1), have been reported to enhance BR response, whereas factors that promote photomorphogenesis, including NF-YCs, <em>bzr1–D</em> suppressor1 (BZS1), and ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5), have been reported to inhibit BR signaling. BRASSINAZOLE RESISTANT 1 (BZR1) and BRASSINOSTEROID-INSENSITIVE 2 (BIN2) cross-talk with the transcription factors (TFs), playing a crucial role in the light signaling pathway to orchestrate photomorphogenesis. This review discusses BRs, photomorphogenesis, and the interaction between photoreceptors and BRs. It outlines the physiological roles of BRs in plant development during photomorphogenesis and elucidates the molecular mechanism of BRs in regulating photomorphogenesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"241 ","pages":"Article 106298"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145787635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}