Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 25 October 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201810.0503.v2 Peer-reviewed version available at Plants 2018, 7, 102; doi:10.3390/plants7040102 Review Multiple pathways in the control of the shade avoidance response Giovanna Sessa1, Monica Carabelli1, Marco Possenti2, Giorgio Morelli2 and Ida Ruberti1* 1 Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Research Council, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy;
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[email protected] *Correspondence:
[email protected]; +39 06 49912211 Abstract: To detect the presence of neighboring vegetation, shade-avoiding plants have evolved the ability to perceive and integrate multiple signals. Among them, changes in light quality and quantity are central to elicit and regulate the shade avoidance response. Here, we describe recent advances in the understanding of photoperception and downstream signaling mechanisms underlying the shade avoidance response, focusing on Arabidopsis because most of our knowledge derives from studies conducted in this model plant. Shade avoidance is an adaptive response, resulting in phenotypes with high relative fitness in dense plant communities. However, it contributes to reduction in crop yield, and the design of new strategies aimed at attenuating shade avoidance at defined developmental stages and/or in specific organs in high-density crop plantings is a major challenge for the future. For this reason, in this review, we also report on recent advances in the molecular description of the shade avoidance response in crops, such as maize and tomato, and discuss similarity and differences with Arabidopsis.