Triggered in distress: a miRNA-controlled switch for drought-induced ABA biosynthesis in rice

Abstract

Abiotic stress conditions such as drought, salinity, and flood challenge agricultural production worldwide by adversely affecting crop growth and yield. Plants inherently possess sophisticated response mechanisms for adjusting their physiology to improve survival under stress conditions. Understanding these mechanisms and enhancing them through breeding and biotechnological means are important steps toward developing crop varieties that can perform well under unpredictable climatic extremities of the future.