Integrating biochemical pathways, transcriptional regulation, proteomics, and genetic approaches for enhancing salt stress tolerance in crops

Excessive salt concentrations in plants disrupt vital biochemical and physiological processes, damaging organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts. To mitigate these effects, plants utilize osmolytes such as glycerol, sorbitol, proline (Pro), glycine betaine (GB), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which help maintain cellular turgor and water balance under osmotic stress. Antioxidant defense mechanisms, including enzymatic (e.g., peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase) and non-enzymatic compounds, are essential for salt stress tolerance (SST). These enzymes, upregulated under salt stress, detoxify reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protect cells from oxidative damage. Transcription factors (TFs) such as AP2/EREBP, WRKY, bZIP, GRAS, MYB, GATA, bHLH, and NAC regulate stress-responsive genes and are critical for plant adaptation to abiotic stresses. bZIPs enhance SST in rice, while GATAs are induced by salt stress across various species. NAC TFs interact with hormone signaling pathways like ABA to modulate gene expression in response to oxidative stress and ion imbalance. Additionally, specialized ion transporters (e.g., Na⁺/H⁺ antiporters and HKT1) and phytohormones such as ABA play pivotal roles in maintaining ion homeostasis and orchestrating stress responses under salinity. Advancements in metabolomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and genomics have significantly advanced our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying salt stress tolerance. By studying biochemical pathways, protein dynamics, gene expression, and genomic variations, researchers are uncovering critical networks involved in ion homeostasis, ROS detoxification, and osmotic regulation. This review synthesizes current data, demonstrating how multi-omics approaches enhance our knowledge of salt stress adaptation and offering promising avenues for biotechnological interventions aimed at improving crop resilience.