Emerging role of jasmonic acid in woody plant development

Jasmonic acid (JA) is an important phytohormone in optimizing plant developmental growth and stress responses. The biosynthesis and signalling pathways of JA share common and unique features between herbaceous and woody plants. However, numerous reports have primarily focused on JA function in model plant species or herbaceous plants, leading to a notable lack of research on the JA regulatory mechanism in woody plants. In particular, the role of Jas in posttranscriptional regulation events such as alternative splicing (AS), has largely not been elucidated in trees. In this review article, we summarize the current progress of JA-involved regulation of developmental growth in different tree species. Along with an accumulating number of studies revealing that AS participates in the JA regulatory network in woody plants, we also update the multiple roles served by JA associated with similar properties and differential regulation within their herbaceous counterparts. The utilization of genetic studies and high-throughput proteogenomic approaches to analyse AS genes and splicing factors involved in JA signalling would further advance our understanding of JA modulation in woody plants.