Functional Specificities of Brassinosteroid and Potential Utilization for Crop Improvement. (November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tong, Hongning; Chu, Chengcai
• Is Part Of: Trends in plant science. Volume 23:Number 11(2018)
• Page Start: 1016
• Page End: 1028
• Publication Date: 2018-11
• Subjects: brassinosteroid -- crop improvement -- functional mechanism -- grain yield -- plant architecture -- GSK3 kinase; Botany -- Periodicals; Botanique -- Périodiques; Botany; Periodicals; 580.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2018.08.007
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1360-1385

Abstract

Abstract : Brassinosteroid (BR) regulates many important agronomic traits and thus has great potential in agriculture. However, BR application is limited due to its complex effects on plants. The identification of specific downstream BR components and pathways in the crop plant rice ( Oryza sativa ) further demonstrates the feasibility of modulating BR responses to obtain desirable traits for breeding. Here, we review advances on how BR regulates various biological processes or agronomic traits such as plant architecture and grain yield in rice. We discuss how these functional specificities of BR can and could be utilized to enhance plant performance and productivity. We propose that unraveling the mechanisms underlying the diverse BR functions will favor BR application in molecular design for crop improvement. Highlights: Regulation of various functions by BR involves specific components or pathways, depending on tissues and developmental stages. These specific components or pathways are mostly branched at the two nodes of the BR primary signaling pathway: GSK3-like kinases and BZR1-like TFs. These branched pathways exhibit complicated relationships with each other involving independency, interdependency, antagonism, redundancy, and competitiveness. Manipulation of specific BR responses can be used to obtain desired beneficial traits with few adverse effects and thus can be utilized for crop improvement.