Research Progress on the Regulation of Plant Growth and Development by MAPK Cascades

The mitogen-activated protein kinase（MAPK）cascade is a highly conserved signal transduction pathway in plants, playing a core regulatory role in plant growth, development, and environmental adaptation.This article systematically reviews the current research progress on the composition and classification of plant MAPK signaling pathways, as well as their functional roles in regulating plant growth and development. Regarding pathway structural features, the focus is primarily on the composition of plant MAPK cascade pathways and the distribution of gene numbers among their components. In terms of growth and development regulation, the core functions of MAPK cascade signaling pathways in plant cell division and polarity establishment, organogenesis and morphogenesis have been systematically elucidated, along with the mechanisms underlying their cross-talk and interactive regulation with plant hormone signaling pathways.The article reviews the future research directions of the MAPK signaling pathway and its potential applications in crop genetic improvement, integrating trends in plant molecular biology and gene breeding technologies, aiming to provide insights for a deeper understanding of plant developmental regulation mechanisms, high-quality germplasm development, and molecular breeding research.