Cytokinins (CKs) and ethylene (ET) are among the most ancient organic chemicals on Earth. A wide range of organisms including plants, algae, fungi, amoebae, and bacteria use these substances as signaling molecules to regulate cellular processes. Because of their ancestral origin and ubiquitous occurrence, CKs and ET are also considered to be ideal molecules for inter-kingdom communication. Their signal transduction pathways were first historically deciphered in plants and are related to the two-component systems, using histidine kinases as primary sensors. Paradoxically, although CKs and ET serve as signaling molecules in different kingdoms, it has been supposed for a long time that the canonical CK and ET signaling pathways are restricted to terrestrial plants. These considerations have now been called into question following the identification over recent years of genes encoding CK and ET receptor homologs in many other lineages within the tree of life. These advances shed new light on the dissemination and evolution of these hormones as both intra- and inter-specific communication molecules in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.

Algal Genetics Group UMR 8227 Integrative Biology of Marine Models Station Biologique de Roscoff Sorbonne Université UPMC CNRS F 29688 Roscoff France

Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology University of Tennessee Knoxville TN 37996 USA

Biomolécules et Biotechnologies Végétales BBV EA2106 Université de Tours F 37200 Tours France

Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research Department of Chemical Biology and Genetics Faculty of Science Palacký University Olomouc Šlechtitelů 27 CZ 783 71 Olomouc Czech Republic

Groupe d'Etude des Interactions Hôte Pathogène GEIHP EA3142 UNIV Angers SFR 4208 ICAT F 49933 Angers France

LBLGC University of Orléans EA1207 INRA USC1328 F 45000 Orléans France

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