HormonomicsDB: a novel workflow for the untargeted analysis of plant growth regulators and hormones.

Background: Metabolomics is the simultaneous determination of all metabolites in a system. Despite significant advances in the field, compound identification remains a challenge. Prior knowledge of the compound classes of interest can improve metabolite identification.

Views and perspectives on the indoleamines serotonin and melatonin in plants: past, present and future.

In the decades since their discovery in plants in the mid-to-late 1900s, melatonin (-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) and serotonin (5-methoxytryptamine) have been established as their own class of phytohormone and have become popular targets for examination and study as stress ameliorating compounds. The indoleamines play roles across the plant life cycle from reproduction to morphogenesis and plant environmental perception. There is growing interest in harnessing the power of these plant neurotransmitters in applied and agricultural settings, particularly as we face increasingly volatile climates for food production; however, there is still a lot to learn about the mechanisms of indoleamine action in plants.

Mammalian Melatonin Agonist Pharmaceuticals Stimulate Rhomboid Proteins in Plants.

Melatonin is a human neurotransmitter and plant signalling metabolite that perceives and directs plant metabolism. The mechanisms of melatonin action in plants remain undefined. We hypothesized that roots have a melatonin-specific receptor and/or transporter that can respond to melatonin-mediating pharmaceuticals.

Predicted impacts of climate change on wild and commercial berry habitats will have food security, conservation and agricultural implications.

Climate change is now a reality and is altering ecosystems, with Canada experiencing 2-4 times the global average rate of warming. This will have a critical impact on berry cultivation and horticulture. Enhancing our understanding of how wild and cultivated berries will perform under changing climates will be essential to mitigating impacts on ecosystems, culture and food security.

A Systematic Review of Melatonin in Plants: An Example of Evolution of Literature.

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxy-tryptamine) is a mammalian neurohormone, antioxidant and signaling molecule that was first discovered in plants in 1995. The first studies investigated plant melatonin from a human perspective quantifying melatonin in foods and medicinal plants and questioning whether its presence could explain the activity of some plants as medicines. Starting with these first handful of studies in the late 1990s, plant melatonin research has blossomed into a vibrant and active area of investigation and melatonin has been found to play critical roles in mediating plant responses and development at every stage of the plant life cycle from pollen and embryo development through seed germination, vegetative growth and stress response.

Metabolomics-Guided Hypothesis Generation for Mechanisms of Intestinal Protection by Live Biotherapeutic Products.

The use of live biotherapeutic products (LBPs), including single strains of beneficial probiotic bacteria or consortiums, is gaining traction as a viable option to treat inflammatory-mediated diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, LBPs' persistence in the intestine is heterogeneous since many beneficial bacteria lack mechanisms to tolerate the inflammation and the oxidative stress associated with IBD. We rationalized that optimizing LBPs with enhanced colonization and persistence in the inflamed intestine would help beneficial bacteria increase their bioavailability and sustain their beneficial responses.

The Morphoregulatory Role of Thidiazuron: Metabolomics-Guided Hypothesis Generation for Mechanisms of Activity.

Thidiazuron (TDZ) is a diphenylurea synthetic herbicide and plant growth regulator used to defoliate cotton crops and to induce regeneration of recalcitrant species in plant tissue culture. In vitro cultures of African violet thin petiole sections are an ideal model system for studies of TDZ-induced morphogenesis. TDZ induces de novo shoot organogenesis at low concentrations and somatic embryogenesis at higher concentrations of exposure.

Metabolomics and hormonomics to crack the code of filbert growth.

Introduction: Plants respond to changes in their environments through hormonal activation of a physiological cascade that redirects metabolic resources and growth. In filberts (Corylus sp.), chelated iron promotes the growth of new shoots but the mechanism(s) are not understood.

Auxin driven indoleamine biosynthesis and the role of tryptophan as an inductive signal in Hypericum perforatum (L.).

In the 60 years since Skoog and Miller first reported the chemical redirection of plant growth the underlying biochemical mechanisms are still poorly understood, with one challenge being the capacity for applied growth regulators to act indirectly or be metabolized to active phytohormones. We hypothesized that tryptophan is metabolized to auxin, melatonin or serotonin inducing organogenesis in St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.

Direct visualization of location and uptake of applied melatonin and serotonin in living tissues and their redistribution in plants in response to thermal stress.

Melatonin and serotonin are important phytochemicals enabling plants to redirect growth in response to environmental stresses. Despite much research on their biosynthetic routes, localization of their biosynthetic enzymes and recent identification of a phytomelatonin receptor, localization of the molecules themselves has to date not been possible. Elucidation of their locations in living tissues can provide an effective tool to facilitate indolamine research across systems including both plants and animals.

Melatonin in plant signalling and behaviour.

Melatonin is an indoleamine neurotransmitter that has recently become well established as an important multi-functional signalling molecule in plants. These signals have been found to induce several important physiological responses that may be interpreted as behaviours. The diverse processes in which melatonin has been implicated in plants have expanded far beyond the traditional roles for which it has been implicated in mammals, which include sleep, tropisms and reproduction.

Melatonin and serotonin: Mediators in the symphony of plant morphogenesis.

Melatonin and serotonin are important signaling and stress mitigating molecules that play important roles across growth and development in plants. Despite many well-documented responses, a systematic investigation of the entire metabolic pathway (tryptophan, tryptamine, and N-acetylserotonin) does not exist, leaving many open questions. The objective of this study was to determine the responses of Hypericum perforatum (L.

Melatonin in Plants and Plant Culture Systems: Variability, Stability and Efficient Quantification.

Despite growing evidence of the importance of melatonin and serotonin in the plant life, there is still much debate over the stability of melatonin, with extraction and analysis methods varying greatly from lab to lab with respect to time, temperature, light levels, extraction solvents, and mechanical disruption. The variability in methodology has created conflicting results that confound the comparison of studies to determine the role of melatonin in plant physiology. We here describe a fully validated method for the quantification of melatonin, serotonin and their biosynthetic precursors: tryptophan, tryptamine and N-acetylserotonin by liquid chromatography single quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in diverse plant species and tissues.

Melatonin Natural Health Products and Supplements: Presence of Serotonin and Significant Variability of Melatonin Content.

Study Objectives: Melatonin is an important neurohormone, which mediates circadian rhythms and the sleep cycle. As such, it is a popular and readily available supplement for the treatment and prevention of sleep-related disorders including insomnia and jet lag. This study quantified melatonin in 30 commercial supplements, comprising different brands and forms and screened supplements for the presence of serotonin.

Serotonin: An ancient molecule and an important regulator of plant processes.

Serotonin is an ancient indoleamine that was presumably part of the life cycle of the first prokaryotic life forms on Earth millions of years ago where it functioned as a powerful antioxidant to combat the increasingly oxygen rich atmosphere. First identified as a neurotransmitter signaling molecule in mammals, it is ubiquitous across all forms of life. Serotonin was discovered in plants many years after its discovery in mammals; however, it has now been confirmed in almost all plant families, where it plays important roles in plant growth and development, including functions in energy acquisition, seasonal cycles, modulation of reproductive development, control of root and shoot organogenesis, maintenance of plant tissues, delay of senescence, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Antifungal Screening of Lavender Essential oils and Essential Oil Constituents on three Post-harvest Fungal Pathogens.

A growing body of literature indicates that many synthetic pesticides have adverse effects on human, animal, and environmental health. As a result, plant-derived natural products are quickly gaining momentum as safer and less ecologically damaging alternatives due to their low toxicity, high biodegradability, and good specificity. Essential oils of Lavandula angustifolia, Lavandula x intermedia cv Grosso, and Lavandida x intermedia cv Provence as well as various mono- and sesquiterpene essential oil constituents were tested in order to assess their antifungal potential on three important agricultural pathogens: Botrytis cinerea, Mucor piriformis, and Penicillium expansum.

A new balancing act: The many roles of melatonin and serotonin in plant growth and development.

Melatonin and serotonin are indoleamines first identified as neurotransmitters in vertebrates; they have now been found to be ubiquitously present across all forms of life. Both melatonin and serotonin were discovered in plants several years after their discovery in mammals, but their presence has now been confirmed in almost all plant families. The mechanisms of action of melatonin and serotonin are still poorly defined.

The biosynthetic origin of irregular monoterpenes in Lavandula: isolation and biochemical characterization of a novel cis-prenyl diphosphate synthase gene, lavandulyl diphosphate synthase.

Lavender essential oils are constituted predominantly of regular monoterpenes, for example linalool, 1,8-cineole, and camphor. However, they also contain irregular monoterpenes including lavandulol and lavandulyl acetate. Although the majority of genes responsible for the production of regular monoterpenes in lavenders are now known, enzymes (including lavandulyl diphosphate synthase (LPPS)) catalyzing the biosynthesis of irregular monoterpenes in these plants have not been described.