Strigolactones as a hormonal hub for the acclimation and priming to environmental stress in plants

Strigolactones are phytohormones with many attributed roles in development, and more recently in responses to environmental stress. We will review evidence of the latter in the frame of the classic distinction among the three main stress acclimation strategies (i.e., avoidance, tolerance and escape), by taking osmotic stress in its several facets as a non-exclusive case study. The picture we will sketch is that of a hormonal family playing important roles in each of the mechanisms tested so far, and influencing as well the build-up of environmental memory through priming. Thus, strigolactones appear to be backstage operators rather than frontstage players, setting the tune of acclimation responses by fitting them to the plant individual history of stress experience.

Automated summary

Strigolactones, as phytohormones, play important roles in plant development and response to environmental stress. This article examines the evidence of their involvement in stress acclimation strategies, focusing on osmotic stress. The findings suggest that strigolactones function as backstage operators, adjusting the acclimation responses based on the plant's stress experience and contributing to the formation of environmental memory.