Gibberellic Acid: A Versatile Regulator of Plant Growth, Development and Stress Responses

The global agricultural system has been badly affected by adverse environmental changes in the past few years. These changes, including the rise of abiotic and biotic stressors negatively altered the growth and physiology of crop plants. Abiotic stresses, such as salinity, temperature extremes, drought, and heavy metals/metalloids, are major environmental constraints limiting crop growth, productivity, and sustainability worldwide. These stresses adversely affect plant metabolic activities and redox homeostasis, eventually leading to a reduction in plant growth and development. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) play a key role in regulating plants developmental processes and defensive responses under adverse environmental conditions. Among PGRs, gibberellic acid (GA(3)), an endogenous tetracyclic diterpenoid plant hormone, regulates many growth and developmental aspects of crop plants. GA(3) plays a pivotal role in mitigating abiotic stresses induced-perturbations in plants by modulating various physio-biochemical and molecular processes. Based on recent reports, this review article describes the role of exogenously applied GA(3) in improving seed germination, phenotypic characteristics, metabolic processes, yield and quality components, and post-harvest life of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. In this article, we summarize research concerning GA(3) biosynthesis and signaling and discuss the potential role of GA(3) in mediating tolerance to various abiotic stresses. Moreover, the present article enlightens the current research concerning the signaling pathway in gibberellin and gibberellin-mediated crosstalk with other plant hormones.