The molecular mechanisms of exogenous melatonin

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the future work and stated research gap of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2025 and 2026, all from Frontiers in Plant Science. Those papers have been cited 11 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• The regulatory roles of flavonoids, melatonin, and glycine betaine in plant salt stress response (2026) · Frontiers in Plant Science · doi

  Author contributions Significant progress has been made in understanding the roles of secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, melatonin, and glycine betaine in plant salt stress responses. However, several critical knowledge gaps remain, and future research should prioritize agricultural applications aimed at improving plant growth and yield under saline conditions. Secondary metabolites frequently interact, introducing an layer of regulatory complexity. A key question is additional whether these inter-metabolite interactions directly modulate salt tolerance and, consequently, crop productivity. This is further complicated by the fact that many pathways share intermediate substrates, yet the dynamic flux of these metabolites under salt stress and its impact on yield-related traits remain largely unexplored. Addressing these questions requires experimental strategies that simultaneously perturb multiple pathways. To this end, physical interaction assays (e.g., Microscale Thermophoresis, Surface Plasmon Resonance) can be employed to detect direct binding between metabolites, while genetic interaction analyses, combined with metabolite feeding and complementation experiments, can uncover indirect functional relationships. Together, these approaches will provide critical evidence for synergistic effects among metabolites in enhancing stress adaptation and maintaining yield stability. While significant progress has been made in understanding secondary metabolite functions at the molecular level, translating this knowledge into agricultural applications requires additional effort. Key priorities for improving plant growth and yield under salt stress include: (i) identifying natural genetic variation in biosyn- thetic and regulatory genes for marker-assisted breeding of high- yielding, salt-tolerant varieties; (ii) developing multiplex gene editing strategies to simultaneously enhance multiple metabolic pathways that contribute to stress resilience and yield maintenance; (iii) using tissue-specific or stress-inducible promoters to avoid unintended growth penalties while maximizing protective metabolite accumula- tion; (iv) applying synthetic biology approaches to reconstitute and optimize metabolic pathways for sustained crop performance in saline environments; and (v) integrating metabolite traits with other stress tolerance mechanisms (e.g., ion transporters, stress receptors) to achieve synergistic effects on plant growth and yield. Plant secondary metabolism represents a highly versatile system for coping with salt stress, enabling plants to maintain homeostasis and achieve resilience under adverse conditions. Despite significant progress, the complex interplay between primary metabolism, secondary metabolism, and transcriptional regulation —and its WY: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Formal analysis. ZJ: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Formal analysis. JK: Investigation, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. YZ: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. SZ: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: writing stress salt yield editing secondary metabolites plant metabolite original draft review growth pathways signi
• Integrative insights into abiotic stress tolerance in finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.): linking physiological, biochemical, and molecular perspectives for developing climate-smart cereals (2026) · Frontiers in Plant Science · doi

  This review provides new insights into the functional, biochem- ical, and molecular framework of abiotic stress tolerance in finger millet, shedding light on the mechanisms that enable its adaptation to diverse climatic conditions. We synthesize recent advancements in understanding how finger millet deploys complex defense systems, including osmotic regulation, antioxidant networks, and gene regulatory circuits, to cope with drought, salinity, temperature extremes, and heavy metal stress. Despite notable progress, several critical gaps remain unresolved, particularly in linking molecular responses to phenotypic outcomes under field conditions. The release of a high-quality finger millet genome presents unprece- dented opportunities to dissect stress-responsive genes, metabolites, and signaling pathways at finer resolution. While genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses have laid a strong founda- tion, further exploration in metabolomics, ionomics, and high- throughput phenomics is essential to fully characterize the plant’s stress adaptation strategies. A deeper integration of these multi- omics platforms will enhance our mechanistic understanding of abiotic stress responses and facilitate the identification of robust molecular markers for breeding. Moreover, genome editing and genomics-assisted breeding provide valuable avenues to accelerate the development of stress-resilient finger millet cultivars. Given the demonstrated cross-genera transferability of finger millet genes, these tools also hold potential for transferring key abiotic stress tolerance traits into major cereal crops. Such translational applica- tions will be instrumental in addressing hidden hunger and safe- guarding food security in climate-vulnerable regions.

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: stress nger millet molecular abiotic tolerance adaptation conditions understanding responses high genome genes breeding review
• Transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis reveals the molecular mechanism of exogenous melatonin improves salt tolerance in eggplants (2025) · Frontiers in Plant Science · cited 11× · doi

  The molecular mechanisms of exogenous melatonin in improving salt tolerance in eggplants are rarely reported. There is a lack of understanding of the key genes and metabolic pathways involved in melatonin-mediated salt stress resistance. The study aims to fill this knowledge gap by investigating the molecular mechanism of exogenous melatonin in improving salt tolerance in eggplants.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: molecular mechanisms exogenous melatonin improving salt tolerance eggplants

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