Strigolactones as Integrative Regulators of Plant Adaptation and Resilience to Abiotic Stress

Abstract

Climate change represents a major global challenge, intensifying abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity and temperature extremes, that severely constrain productivity and threaten food security. To survive under such fluctuating and adverse environments, plants depend on intricate hormonal signalling networks that coordinate growth regulation, resource allocation and stress adaptation. Among these, strigolactones (SLs) have emerged as integrative regulators that bridge developmental control with environmental responsiveness, thereby enhancing plant resilience to climate-induced stresses. Initially discovered as rhizospheric signals influencing parasitic weed germination and symbiotic associations, SLs are now recognized as multifunctional phytohormones regulating shoot branching, root system architecture, senescence and reproductive growth. SLs encounter in extensive crosstalk with other hormones notably abscisic acid, auxins and cytokinins to modulate physiological and molecular responses under stress. This review consolidates recent advances in understanding the role of SLs as central mediators of plant adaptation to climate-induced abiotic stresses, emphasizing their integrative signalling roles and interactions with other phytohormones. It also explores emerging molecular, genetic and biotechnological strategies targeting SL pathways for enhancing stress resilience. Unravelling the complex SL signalling network delivers key conceptual inputs for providing climate-smart crops capable of sustaining productivity and stability under the increasing pressures of global climate change.