Melatonin in Plants: More Studies are Necessary
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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Rapid Analysis of Circadian Phenotypes in Arabidopsis Protoplasts Transfected with a Luminescent Clock Reporter
Published on: September 17, 2016
Marino B Arnao1, Josefa Hernández-Ruiz
1Department of Plant Biology; University of Murcia; Murcia, Spain.
Abstract:
Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a biogenic indoleamine structurally related with other important substances such as tryptophan, serotonin, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). In mammals, birds, reptiles and fish melatonin is a biological modulator of several timing (circadian) processes such as mood, sleep, sexual behavior, immunological status, etc. Since its discovery in plants in 1995 several physiological roles, including a possible role in flowering, circadian rhythms and photoperiodicity and as growth-regulator have been postulated. Recently, a possible role in rhizogenesis in lupin has also been proposed. Here, these actions of melatonin in plant development are commented on and some other interesting recent data concerning melatonin in plants are also discussed. The need for more investigation into melatonin and plants is presented as an obvious conclusion.
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