{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T06:04:32Z","timestamp":1789452272419,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789430400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Plant Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Indole is a central scaffold in microbiology and also functions as an auxin precursor and signaling molecule in plants. However, the growth-modulating potential of substituted indoles remains largely unexplored. Here, we screened 87 indole and indole-derived compounds for effects on early seedling growth in two\n                    <jats:italic>Brassicaceae<\/jats:italic>\n                    species, radish and Chinese cabbage. Seed germination was largely unaffected, whereas marked variability was observed in total growth and particularly in root development. The parent compound indole strongly promoted seedling growth to approximately 140% relative to the control, while classical auxin-related derivatives, including indole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-acetonitrile, suppressed growth to approximately 31% of the untreated control at 10 \u03bcg\/mL. Several substituted indoles exhibited enhanced growth, with di-halogenated derivatives such as 7-chloro-5-fluoroindole producing the strongest stimulation, with total seedling length and root growth reaching approximately 155% and 220% of the untreated control, respectively. Structure\u2013activity relationship analysis revealed clear position- and halogen-dependent trends, with substitutions at C6\u2013C7 and specific di-halogenation patterns associated with root-biased promotion, whereas auxin-like side chains and small halogens at C4\u2013C5 were generally unfavorable. These findings identify halogenated indoles as a tunable chemotype capable of modulating plant growth and root development.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2026.1826917","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T05:35:44Z","timestamp":1789450544000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Halogenated indoles selectively modulate plant growth and root development"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Hyeonwoo","family":"Jeong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University","place":["Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kwang-Hyun","family":"Baek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biotechnology, Yeungnam University","place":["Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jin-Hyung","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University","place":["Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jintae","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University","place":["Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"758","DOI":"10.1111\/tpj.12666","article-title":"The inter-kingdom volatile signal indole promotes root development by interfering with auxin signalling","volume":"80","author":"Bailly","year":"2014","journal-title":"Plant J."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.arplant.48.1.51","article-title":"Auxin biosynthesis","volume":"48","author":"Bartel","year":"1997","journal-title":"Annu. 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