Open Access

REVIEW

Key Plant Transcription Factors in Crop Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses

Nadia Lamsaadi¹, Oumaima Maarouf², Soukaina Lahmaoui², Hamid Msaad², Omar Farssi², Chaima Hamim², Mohamed Tamoudjout², Hafsa Hirt², Habiba Kamal², Majida El Hassni², Cherki Ghoulam^3,4, Ahmed El Moukhtari^5,*, Mohamed Farissi²

1 Laboratory of Scientific Innovation in Sustainability, Environment, Education, and Health, Era of Artificial Intelligence, High School Teachers-Training Institution, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fes, 30003, Morocco
2 Laboratory of Biotechnology & Sustainable, Development of Natural Resources, Polydisciplinary Faculty, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, 23000, Morocco
3 Centre of Agrobiotechnology and Bioengineering, Research Unit Labeled CNRST, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, 40000, Morocco
4 CAES, Agrobiosciences Program, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Ben Guerir, 43150, Morocco
5 Laboratory of Ecology and Environment, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’sick, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Casablanca, 20670, Morocco

* Corresponding Authors: Ahmed El Moukhtari. Email: ,

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants: Physio-biochemical and Molecular Mechanisms)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(11), 3585-3610. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.072311

Received 24 August 2025; Accepted 22 October 2025; Issue published 01 December 2025

Abstract

Abiotic stresses, such as drought, heavy metals, salinity, and extreme temperatures, are among the most common adverse threats that restrict the use of land for agriculture and limit crop growth and productivity. As sessile organisms, plants defend themselves from abiotic stresses by developing various tolerance mechanisms. These mechanisms are governed by several biochemical traits. The biochemical mechanisms are the products of key genes that express under specific conditions. Interestingly, the expression of these genes is regulated by specialized proteins known as transcription factors (TFs). Several TFs, including those from the bZIP, bHLH, MYB, HSF, WRKY, DREB, and DOF families, play critical roles in regulating plant growth, development, and responses to environmental changes. By binding to specific DNA sequences, TFs can act as molecular switches to repress or activate the transcription of targeted genes. Moreover, some TF genes have been engineered to strengthencrop resilience to multiple abiotic stresses. Identifying and manipulating TFs is an interesting research area that could aid in improving crop abiotic stress tolerance. This review describs the harmful effects of salinity, drought, temperature and heavy metals on plant growth and development. We also provide an updated discussion on how TFs regulate and activate the plant tolerance under different abiotic constraints. Our aim is to extend understanding of how abiotic stresses affect the physiological characteristics of plants and how TFs alleviate these deleterious effects on plant growth and productivity.

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