Gibberellins – terpenoid plant hormones: Biological importance and chemical analysis

Abstract

Gibberellins (GAs) are a large group of diterpenoid carboxylic acids, some members of which function as plant hormones controlling diverse aspects of growth and development. Biochemical, genetic, and genomic approaches have led to the identification of the majority of the genes that encode GA biosynthesis and deactivation enzymes. Recent studies have shown that both GA biosynthesis and deactivation pathways are tightly regulated by developmental, hormonal, and environmental signals, consistent with the role of GAs as key growth regulators. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of the GA biosynthesis and deactivation pathways in plants and fungi, and discuss methods for their qualitative and quantitative analysis. The challenges for their extraction and purification from plant tissues, which form complex matrices containing thousands of interfering substances, are discussed.