Editorial: Plant transcription factors associated with abiotic stress tolerance in crops and wild-relatives

Abstract

Editorial on the Research Topic Plant transcription factors associated with abiotic stress tolerance in crop and wild-relatives

Global climate change (GCC), by altering the intensity and frequency of potentially damaging weather events such as droughts, waterlogging, heat waves, and cold spells, has altered seasonal weather patterns, causing severe problems for plant crops and wildlife species (Cramer et al., 2011; Asseng et al., 2015; Minoli et al., 2019). To cope with these challenges, plants have evolved complex regulatory mechanisms that enable them to respond and adapt to changing environmental conditions, while maintaining a balance between optimal growth and stress (Eckardt et al., 2023).

This Research Topic brings together several contributions that highlight the role of transcriptional regulation in plant responses to abiotic stresses and hypothesise its role in stress tolerance. The studies published in this Research Topic deal with well-recognised groups of transcription factors (TFs), but also with new ones whose association with the response to abiotic stresses has been demonstrated by recent molecular advances. This evidence allows us to shed light on the mechanisms by which plants respond to different stresses, with a focus on abiotic stresses such as salt, drought, cold, and waterlogging.