Plant Metabolites for the Research of Plant Growth Regulators

Plant growth regulators are inspired by a class of plant metabolites called plant hormones. They can be extracted from plants or chemically synthesized. Most plant growth processes can be affected by plant growth regulators, such as flowering, fruit formation, ripening, fruit drop, and defoliation. Plant growth regulators are widely used in agriculture and horticulture to obtain specific advantages, such as decreasing susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses, improving morphological structure, increasing crop yield, and modifying plant constituent[1].

Applications

Plant hormones are a class of plant metabolites, playing an unparalleled role in the agricultural field as plant growth regulators. Currently, a variety of plant growth regulators are synthesized based on the property of plant hormones. To a certain extent, farmers can control crop growth through plant growth regulators, which provides a breakthrough to solve the problem of world food shortages. The following are several examples of plant hormones used as plant growth regulators.

01

Auxins used as plant growth regulators

Auxins are a group of plant hormones that are used as plant growth regulators to regulate plant's growth by stimulating cell elongation in stems. Auxins also play a significant role in fruit development, lateral branch inhibition and leaf shedding. β-Indolylacetic acids are the most typical example of auxins used as plant growth regulators. They are formed from the tryptophan or the breakdown of carbohydrates known as glycosides.

Auxins used as plant growth regulators

02

Gibberellins used as plant growth regulators

Gibberellins are a group of plant hormones occur in seeds, young leaves, and roots, which are used as plant growth regulators. Studies have shown that gibberellins stimulate the growth of main stems, especially when they used to the whole plant. Gibberellins are also involved in the bolting of rosette plants after exposure to specific environmental stimuli such as long periods of daylight. In addition, gibberellins overcome the genetic limitations of different dwarf varieties. Gibberellic acids are the most common gibberellins that found in higher plants and fungi, and are widely used in grape production.

Gibberellins used as plant growth regulators

03

Abscisic acids used as plant growth regulators

Abscisic acids (ABAs) are important plant hormones used as plant growth regulators. They play a critical role in multiple physiological processes of plants, such as stomatal closure, cuticular wax accumulation, leaf senescence, bud dormancy, seed germination, osmotic regulation, and growth. ABAs have been extensively used in agriculture as plant growth regulators for controlling the growing cycle of crops.