Origin and evolution of gibberellin signaling in plants

Authors

  • Miguel Blazquez IBMCP (CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/enbio.17.192.2025.22990

Keywords:

evolution, development, stress, transcription factors

Abstract

Gibberellins are plant hormones primarily recognized for their role in promoting plant growth. However,

they also regulate other key processes, such as stress tolerance and overall development. Although their prominence

during the Green Revolution of the 1960s drove their agronomic use, it is only in recent times that we have understood

their evolution and how they acquired such diverse functions. The gibberellin signaling mechanism is relatively simple:

they are detected by the soluble receptor GID1, which undergoes a conformational change to interact with DELLA

proteins, promoting their degradation via the proteasome. DELLA proteins do not bind directly to DNA but regulate

gene expression by interacting with transcription factors. In this way, gibberellins control gene expression through

modulation of DELLA levels. Although DELLA proteins are present in all land plants, gibberellins and their GID1

receptor are found only in vascular plants. It has been discovered that in non-vascular plants, DELLA proteins retain

the ability to interact with transcription factors and control stress responses and development. This suggests that

gibberellins acquired these functions when the GID1 receptor appeared in the common ancestor of vascular plants.

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References

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Published

2026-01-24

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How to Cite

Origin and evolution of gibberellin signaling in plants. (2026). Encuentros En La Biología, 17(192), 31-33. https://doi.org/10.24310/enbio.17.192.2025.22990