The research team on plant science led by Professor CHEN Qi of the Faculty of Life Science and Technology published a review article online on January 5th, 2022 at the invitation of the editor-in-chief of Trends in Plant Science, a top journal in plant science of Cell Press. The article entitled “Phytomelatonin prevents bacterial invasion during nighttime” sheds new light on the study of the function of phytomelatonin in plants. KUST is listed as the first institution of this research. LI Xiaomin, a master’s student at KUST, is listed as the first author of the article, Professor CHEN Qi is the corresponding author and Professor Zed Rengel from the University of Western Australia also participated in the research work.

Sleep is essential for the survival of both human beings and animals, while plants also conduct similar life activities governed by the circadian clock, such as stomatal rhythms, leaf movement and flowering. Melatonin, an important hormone for the regulation of sleep and circadian rhythms in vertebrates, is also found in plants’ stomatal rhythms and innate immunity regulation. Based on the relevant research both at home and abroad and the latest research achievement of the laboratory, thisarticle proposes a new biological function of Phytomelatonin in plants, namely preventing bacterial invasion during nighttime. The article also discusses the primary function of Phytomelatonin in plant evolution, while proposing new research questions regarding the research of phytomelatonin signaling and its function.

Link to this article:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1360138521003514

Translated by: ZHANG Xiao, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures

Edited by: MA Lifei, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures (English)

Source: Faculty of Life Science and Technology

Issued by: Division ofInternational Cooperation (English)

Edited by: KUST News Center (Chinese)