Fundamental Issues of Melatonin-Mediated Stress Signaling in Plants

As a widely known hormone in animals, melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) has been more and more popular research topic in various aspects of plants. To summarize the these recent advances, this review focuses on the regulatory effects of melatonin in plant response to multiple abiotic stresses including salt, drought, cold, heat and oxidative stresses and biotic stress such as pathogen infection. We highlight the changes of endogenous melatonin levels under stress conditions, and the extensive metabolome, transcriptome, and proteome reprogramming by exogenous melatonin application. Moreover, melatonin-mediated stress signaling and underlying mechanism in plants are extensively discussed. Much more is needed to further study in detail the mechanisms of melatonin-mediated stress signaling in plants.