Environmental stress induced biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites- transcriptional regulation as a key

Abstract

Secondary metabolites represnt are diverse array of plant-synthesized compounds that, while not essential for growth and development, play crucial roles in plant defense against biotic and abiotic stresses, attracting pollinators and seed dispersers, and facilating adaptation to environmental challenges The biosynthesis of these secondary metabolites, incuding alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolics, and flavonoids is tightly regulated through multiple pathways, particularly under stress conditions which enables the plant to tolerate the stressful environment. Understanding how environmental stresses modulate secondary metabolite biosynthesis can be harnessed to develop stress-resistant crops and enhance the production of commercially and pharmaceutically valuable compounds by utilizing stress as an elicitor. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the transcriptional regulation of secondary metabolite pathways, with a focus on key classes such as flavonoids, terpenoids, and terpenoid indole alkaloids in response to abiotic stresses (e.g. salinity, drought, light, and temperature) and biotic stress. We highlight the ​critical ​roles of transcription factors like MYB, bHLH, and WRKY in regulating these pathways and their contribution to plant stress tolerance. This comprehensive analysis offers insights into improving crop resilience and enabling the sustainable production of high-value phytochemicals through advanced understanding of secondary metabolite regulation.