Dear Colleagues,

Plants experience various biotic and abiotic stresses that negatively affect crop yield. Drought, high or low temperatures, increased acidity, salinity, pesticide load, diseases are stress factors that cause changes in plant development. Preventing crop loss due to these factors means minimizing the loss of genetic potential and thereby increasing the yield and quality of crops. Achieving this goal involves understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms of plant resistance to the damaging effects of biotic and abiotic factors: one of the fundamental problems of biology. Hormonal factors and, first of all, brassinosteroids play a key role in increasing the stress resistance of plants. This Special Issue of Plants welcomes original research and review studies on the role of brassinosteroids in the plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses, including but not limited to the following subtopics: influence on photosynthetic machinery, cross-talk with other phytohormones, effects on the production of secondary metabolites, application for improving crop production.

Dr. Vladimir N. Zhabinskii
Dr. Andrzej Bajguz
Guest Editor

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• phytohormones
• brassinosteroids
• biotic stress
• abiotic stress

Title: Effect of lactone- and ketone-brassinosteroids on barley plants under salt stress
Authors: Ol’ga K. Murgan1, Elena D. Danilova1, Liliya V. Kolomeichuk1, Ilya E. Zlobin1,2, Mariya V. Serafimovich1, Vladimir A. Khripach3, Raisa P. Litvinovskaya3, Vladimir N. Zhabinskiǐ3, Vladimir V. Kuznetsov
Affiliation: 1 Department of Plant Physiology, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Biological Institute, National Research Tomsk State University, Lenin Avenue 36, Tomsk 634050, Russia 2 K.A. Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Botanicheskaya Street 35, Moscow 127276, Russia 3 Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Kuprevich Street 5/2, 220084 Minsk, Belarus
Abstract: Salinity is one of the dominant abiotic stressor that limits the growth and productivity of agricultural crops. The most environmentally friendly ways to increase plant resistance is the use of phytohormones, in particular brassinosteroids (BS). At the moment, the physiological effects of lactone-containing BS has been well studied, while the effects of the group of ketone-containing brassinosteroids has not been studied enough. This study compared the effects of lactone-containing BS – 28-homobrassinolide and ketone-containing 28-homocastasterone on barley plants subjected to salt stress. Germinated barley seeds were soaked in solutions of 28-homobrassinolide or 28-homocastasterone. The plants were transferred to hydroponic conditions with the addition of sodium chloride and grown for two weeks. The water and oxidative status of plants, as well as their ability to accumulate compatible osmolytes, were analyzed.

Title: Role of Nitric Oxide in Brassinosteroid-induced Plant Stress Response
Authors: Golam Jalal Ahammed1 and Xin Li2
Affiliation: 1 College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, PR China 2 Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, PR China
Abstract: Nitric oxide (NO) is a crucial signaling molecule in plants that plays multifarious roles in plant responses to environmental stimuli. Although NO can be toxic when accumulates in excess, recent advances in plant reactive nitrogen species (RNS) signaling biology reveal that NO participates in biotic and abiotic stress perception, signal integration, and stress-response network activation, hence contributing to plant defense and stress tolerance. NO production, removal and transport are fine-tuned by plant hormones and stress-response signaling pathways. Two enzymatic sources of NO production, such as nitrate reductase (NR) and nitrate synthase (NOS), are believed to play a crucial role in mediating phytohormone-regulated responses in plants. Notably, NO mediates brassinosteroid-induced plant developmental response and stress tolerance. In particular, NR-derived NO generation acts downstream of brassinosteroid to mediate stress response. In this review, we discuss promising developments in plant NO signaling and how NO might mediate brassinosteroid-induced plant resilience to environmental stress.