LBD Transcription Factors: Conserved Developmental Hubs Integrating Plant Regeneration and Environmental Adaptation

LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES DOMAIN (LBD) transcription factors are plant-specific regulators that govern plant cellular plasticity. On one hand, LBD proteins transduce auxin and wound signals to initiate cell dedifferentiation, callus formation and de novo organogenesis, functioning as key drivers of plant regeneration in both dicots and monocots. On the other hand, they actively respond to a wide range of abiotic stresses including drought, salinity as well as pathogen-induced biotic stress. LBDs maintain ROS homeostasis and osmotic balance, and modulate ABA, JA signaling pathways to enhance plant stress tolerance. This review summarizes the structural characteristics, evolutionary features and dual roles of LBDs, analyzes current research limitations, and puts forward epigenetic and breeding-oriented research directions. It provides valuable theoretical references for studying plant plasticity and improving crop genetic transformation and stress resistance.Unlike previous reviews that separately summarize LBD developmental or stress functions, this work systematically integrates the crosstalk between regeneration and environmental adaptation, and proposes a unified growth-stress trade-off regulatory framework.