Signaling Beyond Borders: How Phytohormones Mediate Plant-Microbe Interactions and Environmental Adaptation

Agricultural productivity worldwide faces growing challenges due to a myriad of biotic and abiotic stressors. As the demands for food increase amidst changing environmental conditions, understanding the complex regulatory systems within plants becomes paramount. Phytohormones, once thought to act in isolation, are now recognized as crucial components of an intricate signaling network, coordinating plant growth, defense, and adaptation. In addition to established phytohormones like auxins, cytokinins, and abscisic acid, new players such as polyamines and volatile compounds are emerging, further diversifying the hormonal signaling landscape. Recent advances highlight microbial interactions as key modulators of plant hormone pathways, adding another layer of complexity to this regulation. Despite significant breakthroughs in molecular biology, a comprehensive framework linking hormonal dynamics, microbial communication, and environmental adaptation under multi-stress conditions remains incomplete.This Research Topic aims to elucidate novel mechanisms by which phytohormones orchestrate plant growth, defense, and resilience in dynamic environmental and microbial landscapes. By redefining phytohormones as systemic integrators of plant-environment-microbe interactions, this Topic seeks to reposition them from isolated agents to pivotal connectors in spatiotemporal and molecular signaling networks. With a focus on phytohormonal regulation amid both individual and combined stressors, we aim to explore microbial modulation of these pathways through mimicry, biosynthesis, or interference. Additionally, studies examining non-canonical hormonal roles and emerging compounds are encouraged to expand our understanding of inter-organismal communications.To gather further insights into phytohormonal interactions within plant-environment-microbe systems, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Hormone dynamics and crosstalk under stress• Microbe-mediated modulation of hormone signaling• Discovery of novel phytohormones or analogues• Biosynthetic engineering of phytohormonal pathways• Omics-based identification of regulatory networks• Applications in controlled environments, vertical farming, and digital agriculture• Advanced imaging, biosensors, and wearable technologies for real-time hormone trackingThis Research Topic invites Original Research, Reviews, Methods, Perspectives, and Opinions, particularly inter-disciplinary work combining molecular biology, biotechnology, synthetic biology, computational modeling, and AI-based approaches. By fostering a transdisciplinary dialogue, we aim to generate cohesive insights into how phytohormones facilitate plant adaptation and interspecies communication in an ever-evolving world. Topic editors: Mohamed Ait-El-Mokhtar, Marouane BASLAM Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/71198/signaling-beyond-borders-how-phytohormones-mediate-plant-microbe-interactions-and-environmental-adaptation