REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Breeding
Harnessing Brassinosteroid Signaling in Rice: From Molecular Pathways to Environmentally Adaptive Breeding
Provisionally accepted
Li Shuai1
Hanjing Sha1
Zhang JinHui2Wei ZhongHua1Liu LiChao1Men LongNan1Sun ZhongHua1Zong TianPeng1
Zhi Jun Cheng2*Xie ShuPeng1*- 1Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
- 2Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Institute of Crop Sciences, Beijing, China
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Brassinosteroids (BRs), a class of steroidal phytohormones, play crucial roles in regulating plant growth, development, and environmental adaptation in rice. With the elucidation of BR signaling pathways in Arabidopsis, the rice BR regulatory network has been progressively uncovered, revealing both conserved and unique features. In this review, we first summarize recent advances in understanding BR signaling mechanisms in rice. We then focus on how BR signaling integrates environmental cues, including nutrient availability, high-temperature stress, drought stress, and pathogen responses, to fine-tune growth and yield. Moreover, we highlight the complex cross-talk between BR signaling and other phytohormones that enables dynamic responses to environmental fluctuations. Finally, we discuss the potential applications of BR-related genes in rice production, together with the challenges of their translation into practical agricultural systems, providing perspectives and opportunities for environmentally adaptive breeding. Taken together, recent discoveries deepen our understanding of BR signaling in rice and provide a conceptual framework for exploring its roles in environmentally adaptive growth regulation and crop improvement.
Keywords: brassinosteroid, Environmentally Adaptive Breeding, hormone cross-talk, rice, signaling pathway
Received: 06 Jan 2026; Accepted: 06 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Shuai, Sha, JinHui, ZhongHua, LiChao, LongNan, ZhongHua, TianPeng, Cheng and ShuPeng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zhi Jun Cheng
Xie ShuPeng
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