ReviewFrontiers in plant science2026
Melatonin: a multifaceted regulator of root development, stress responses, and hormonal crosstalk in horticultural crops.
Review in Frontiers in plant science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Melatonin is increasingly recognized as a multifunctional signaling molecule involved in plant growth regulation and stress adaptation. Recent studies have revealed that melatonin plays a pivotal role in shaping root system architecture (RSA) by modulating root growth dynamics, lateral root formation, and root-microbe interactions. This review highlights emerging evidence that melatonin regulates RSA through complex crosstalk with phytohormones, reactive oxygen species, and stress-responsive signaling pathways, rather than acting solely as a growth regulator. Importantly, accumulating evidence indicates that melatonin functions as an integrative regulator of RSA by coordinating multiple hormone signaling pathways, including auxin, jasmonic acid, ethylene, cytokinins, salicylic acid, and abscisic acid, in a concentration- and context-dependent manner. We further distinguish the regulatory effects of melatonin on root growth and root architectural remodeling and summarize the dose-dependent actions of melatonin under abiotic stress conditions. Beyond hormonal regulation, melatonin enhances root nutrient acquisition by modulating ion transporters, maintaining ion homeostasis, and optimizing root system architecture, thereby improving nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and micronutrient uptake under stress conditions. Emerging evidence also suggests that melatonin may indirectly influence root-microbe interactions by reshaping root physiology, redox status, and hormonal balance, contributing to improved stress resilience. By integrating molecular, physiological, and developmental perspectives, this review provides a conceptual framework for understanding melatonin-mediated root system plasticity and positions melatonin as an integrative regulator of root system architecture that links hormonal crosstalk, nutrient acquisition, and stress adaptation, offering insights into its potential applications in crop stress resilience improvement.
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