Involvement of Pathogenesis-Related Proteins and Their Roles in Abiotic Stress Responses in Plants

Plant pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins are a large and diverse family of proteins with antimicrobial activity, often induced by pathogen attack. Traditionally, PR proteins were thought to mainly participate in plant defense mechanisms against biotic stress. However, in recent years, increasing evidence has shown that these proteins also play important roles in the response to abiotic stress in plants. In the present review, we provide a summary of the latest findings on PR proteins and focus on their response to various abiotic stresses, the mechanism by which PR proteins are activated by external and internal signals, and their biological functions in plant responses to abiotic stresses. In addition, the existing challenges and future applications are also summarized, aiming to provide a reference for further research on PR proteins in the context of plant physiology.