title: Roles of melatonin in abiotic stress resistance in plants.
abstract: In recent years melatonin has emerged as a research highlight in plant studies. Melatonin has different functions in many aspects of plant growth and development. The most frequently mentioned functions of melatonin are related to abiotic stresses such as drought, radiation, extreme temperature, and chemical stresses. This review mainly focuses on the regulatory effects of melatonin when plants face harsh environmental conditions. Evidence indicates that environmental stress can increase the level of endogenous melatonin in plants. Overexpression of the melatonin biosynthetic genes elevates melatonin levels in transgenic plants. The transgenic plants show enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses. Exogenously applied melatonin can also improve the ability of plants to tolerate abiotic stresses. The mechanisms by which melatonin alleviates abiotic stresses are discussed.
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qianqian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Haijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yunyun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weeda
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, USA yaguo@cau.edu.cn sren@vsu.edu.
authors.forename: Shuxin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China yaguo@cau.edu.cn sren@vsu.edu.
authors.forename: Yang-Dong
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D055864:Droughts; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D008550:Melatonin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D008550:Melatonin
keywords: Abiotic stress; genetic modification; mechanism; melatonin; plants; tolerance.