Processing bodies (P-bodies, PBs) are cytoplasmic RNP condensates that concentrate mRNA-decay and translation-repression factors. In plants, PBs share core machinery with other eukaryotes yet exhibit unique, context-dependent features that distinguish them from their yeast and mammalian counterparts. These are shaped by direct modulation from hormonal signaling (e.g., ABA) and stress physiology, highlighting their specialized roles in adaptation. Here we synthesize plant-focused evidence on PB composition, liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS-driven assembly), and coupling to decapping-dependent and co-translational decay. We clarify when PBs act as decay hotspots versus buffering sites for non-translating mRNAs, and we explicitly separate plant findings from yeast/animal inferences. We also integrate recent data on post-translational modifications (e.g., MAPK-dependent DCP1 phosphorylation) and RNA modifications (m6A/ECT8) in selective mRNA targeting. Finally, we outline open questions on the spatial organization of decay, PB-stress granule crosstalk, and hormonal control, and highlight methodological avenues. Overall, plant PBs emerge as dynamic hubs that help tune post-transcriptional control to developmental and environmental cues, with mechanisms increasingly resolved by interdisciplinary combinations of live-cell imaging, quantitative proteomics, and CRISPR-based genetics.
Matinahmadi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.