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Turkish Journal of Botany

Abstract

Abiotic stress conditions impair plant metabolism partly by inducing the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Melatonin, a multifunctional indoleamine, has emerged as an important regulator of plant responses to oxidative stress. This review highlights recent findings on the interactions among phytomelatonin, ROS homeostasis, antioxidant metabolism, photosynthetic protection, stress priming, and abiotic stress tolerance. We discuss how melatonin modulates the antioxidative response under diverse stress conditions and evaluate its effects on photosynthetic performance, ROS signaling, and membrane stability. Special attention is given to priming studies showing that melatonin pretreatment can improve stress tolerance. Emerging evidence from plant tissue culture is also considered, highlighting melatonin’s potential to reduce oxidative browning, improve regeneration competence, and support transformation or in vitro selection workflows. Finally, recent evidence of melatonin-mediated protection in globally important C4 crops, including maize, sorghum, and sugarcane, is summarized. These studies indicate that melatonin is as a sustainable tool for mitigating stress conditions for efficient crop yields. Overall, the accumulated evidence supports the conclusion that phytomelatonin functions as both an antioxidant and signaling molecule and helps to coordinate plant adaptation to abiotic stress.

Author ORCID Identifier

BARIŞ UZİLDAY: 0000-0001-8168-056X

OĞUZHAN YILMAZ: 0000-0002-3139-8889

TOLGA YALÇINKAYA: 0000-0002-9758-5855

ZEHRA ÖZGECAN TANYOLAÇ: 0009-0002-8930-0757

İSMAİL TÜRKAN: 0000-0001-9042-6870

RENGİN ÖZGÜR UZİLDAY: 0000-0002-4312-8093

DOI

10.55730/1300-008X.3009

Keywords

Abiotic stress, C4 photosynthesis, phytomelatonin, reactive oxygen species, seed priming

First Page

426

Last Page

441

Publisher

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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