Small and Mighty: Peptide hormones in plant biology (By Sonali Roy, Peter Lundquist, Michael Udvardi, and Wolf-Rüdiger Scheible)

Abstract A phytohormone (plant hormone) is defined as a naturally occurring plant compound that acts as a signal molecule even at low concentrations; familar phytohormones include auxin, cytokinin etc. Interestingly, 5- to 60- amino acid long peptides also display many characteristics of hormones. In plants, peptide hormones have been found to regulate gene expression and cause changes in a variety of parameters and processes, including cell size and number, fertilization, plant responses to nutrient availability, and defense against pathogens. This Teaching Tool covers the early discoveries of peptide hormones in animals and plants, the structure and biogenesis of peptide hormones, the roles of post-translational modifications, tools used to identify peptide hormones, the mobility and perception of peptide hormones, and some of the physiological roles of peptide hormones in plants. A summary of known peptide gene families is provided as an appendix. Posted August 17, 2018.