Peptide Signalling as a Control Layer for Signal Prioritisation in Plant Stress Networks.

Peptide signalling functions as a control layer that governs signal prioritisation in plant stress networks, influencing responses to combined stresses.

• Why it matters: Understanding how plants manage conflicting signals under multiple stresses is crucial for improving stress resilience and nutrient efficiency in crops, yet current models lack this prioritisation mechanism.
• What they did: The review synthesizes evidence from several peptide families, including CEP, CLE, RALF, PEP, IDA, and PSK, and presents a case study of drought and nitrogen limitation responses involving ABA and CEP in Arabidopsis and cereals.
• The result: This framework predicts that peptide signals set response boundaries and that loss of prioritisation can be distinguished from signalling fragility, highlighting opportunities and challenges for crop breeding and stress management.