Role of ABA in Overcoming Environmental Stress: Sensing, Signaling and Crosstalk

Abstract

The Abscisic Acid (ABA) is an isoprenoid phytohormone, regulating various physiological processes ranging from stomatal opening to protein storage. Moreover, it provides adaptation to drought, salt and cold stresses acts also as a signaling mediator during the plant’s adaptive response to environmental conditions. In addition, numbers of transcription factors are involved in regulating the expression of ABA responsive genes by interacting with their respective cis-acting elements. ABA signal transduction initiates signal perception by ABA receptors and transfer via downstream proteins, including protein kinases and phosphatases. Hence, for improvement in plants-stress-tolerance capacity, it is necessary to understand the mechanism behind it. On this ground, this article lightens the importance and also the role of ABA signaling with regard to various stresses as well as regulation of ABA biosynthetic pathway along with the transcription factors for stress tolerance.