The stressing point: how plants respond to environmental stimuli

Abstract

This review article examines how environmental stress affects plant development by changing their morphological features, physiological processes, biochemical pathways, and gene regulatory mechanisms. Eukaryotic plants face major agricultural challenges because they are stationary, making them constantly susceptible to adverse conditions such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, and heavy metal contamination. Key findings highlight the genetic and molecular factors that drive adaptive responses, including the production of osmoprotective and antioxidant compounds that improve stress tolerance. For instance, the review shows how wheat produces proline during water stress and discusses the role of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in maize. It also covers how salt stress responses are regulated by Dehydration-Responsive Element-Binding (DREB) and basic/helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors, as well as how gene expression in sugar beet is controlled by non-coding RNAs. Furthermore, we examine how plants adapt to thermal and light stress, describing physiological and biochemical changes, including the regulation of heat shock proteins and gene expression under intense light conditions. Overall, our review emphasizes that plant stress adaptation relies on complex genetic, physiological, and biochemical mechanisms that support the development of resilient crop varieties and sustainable farming practices.