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Melatonin in business with abiotic stresses in plants

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Abstract

Melatonin (MEL) is the potential biostimulator molecule, governing multiple range of growth and developmental processes in plants, particularly under different environmental constrains. Mainly, its role is considered as an antioxidant molecule that copes with oxidative stress through scavenging of reactive oxygen species and modulation of stress related genes. It also enhances the antioxidant enzyme activities and thus helps in regulating the redox hemostasis in plants. Apart from its broad range of antioxidant functions, it is involved in the regulation of various physiological processes such as germination, lateral root growth and senescence in plants. Moreover this multifunctional molecule takes much interest due to its recent identification and characterization of receptorCandidate G-protein-Coupled Receptor 2/Phytomelatonin receptor(CAND2/PMTR1) in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this compiled work, different aspects of melatonin in plants such as melatonin biosynthesis and detection in plants, signaling pathway, modulation of stress related genes and physiological role of melatonin under different environmental stresses have been dissected in detail.

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Acknowledgement

Tanveer Ahmad Khan acknowledges financial support from CSIR-UGC (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, University Grants Commission) New Delhi, India as Junior Research fellowship under Ref. No. (553/CSIR-UGC NET) at Aligarh Muslim University.

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  1. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry Section, Department of Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India

    Tanveer Ahmad Khan, Qazi Fariduddin, Faroza Nazir & Mohd Saleem

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Khan, T.A., Fariduddin, Q., Nazir, F. et al. Melatonin in business with abiotic stresses in plants. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 26, 1931–1944 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-020-00878-z

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