Plant Peptide Hormones: Distinctive Horizons in Plant Development and Stress Resilience

Peptide hormones, which are biologically active short chains of amino acids (typically ranging from a few to about 100 residues), serve as crucial signalling molecules in plants. They play pivotal roles in regulating a wide spectrum of physiological and developmental processes through precisely regulated cell-to-cell communication networks. The discovery of plant peptide hormones has opened new frontiers in understanding growth regulation, developmental patterning, and defence signalling networks, offering significant biotechnological potential for the development of stress-resilient crops. Advances in genomics and receptor biology have uncovered the structural diversity and receptor-mediated perception of numerous peptide families, revealing their capacity to form dynamic regulatory circuits responsive to biotic and abiotic cues. In this review, we provide an updated synthesis of current knowledge on the structure, signalling mechanisms, and functional diversity of major plant peptide hormones, emphasising their emerging conceptual roles as information conduits that fine-tune systemic responses. Further discussion highlights how peptide receptor merges developmental plasticity with stress resilience through a feedback regulation, crosstalk with phytohormone signalling, and epigenetic control. Understanding these integrative peptides signalling networks provides new conceptual and translational avenues for emerging crop resilience and productivity under fluctuating environmental conditions.