Plant-derived extracellular vesicles in stress mitigation and crop improvement

Plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs) have emerged as key mediators of plant stress biology, transforming our understanding of how plants respond to and tolerate adverse environmental conditions. These nano-sized vesicles act as specific shuttles, carrying cargos such as proteins, lipids, metabolites, and diverse RNA species involved in precise intercellular communication during abiotic and biotic stress. Under stress conditions such as drought, salinity, temperature extremes, or pathogen attack, plants enhance exosome biogenesis and selectively load stress-responsive materials that regulate signalling pathways, reinforce defense barriers, and reprogram gene expression. Emerging evidence also demonstrates their role in cross-kingdom signalling, influencing microbial communities associated with roots and leaves. Understanding plant-derived nanovesicles’ functions offers new opportunities to develop stress-resilient crops and engineer vesicle-based delivery systems for agrochemicals or RNA molecules. This review highlights current knowledge, emerging concepts, and future challenges in deciphering the multifaceted role of exosomes in plant stress tolerance.