Role of Plant Hormones and Signal Transduction Pathways in Regulating Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Abstract

Abiotic stresses such as drought, heat, salinity, and nutrient imbalance are increasingly constraining crop productivity under changing climatic conditions, particularly in agriculturally intensive regions like Uttar Pradesh. Plant hormones function as central regulators that integrate stress perception with physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses through complex signal transduction pathways. This study investigates the role of major phytohormones—abscisic acid, auxins, cytokinins, ethylene, gibberellins, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and brassinosteroids—and their downstream signaling networks in regulating abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. Field and controlled-environment experiments were conducted using wheat, rice, and maize cultivars under drought, heat, and combined stress conditions representative of Uttar Pradesh agro-climates. Hormonal profiling, stress signaling indicators, physiological traits, and yield responses were assessed. The findings demonstrate that hormonal balance, signal amplification through secondary messengers, and transcriptional regulation collectively determine stress adaptation, highlighting hormone-mediated signaling as a key target for developing climate-resilient crops.