Abscisic acid (ABA) is a crucial plant hormone that regulates various key physiological processes in plants, including seed germination and dormancy, and mediates adaptive responses to abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity. Traditional detection methods such as HPLC-MS/MS and ELISA are often time-consuming, labor-intensive, and lack spatial or temporal resolution. In recent years, biosensors have become powerful tools for real-time, sensitive, and specific ABA detection, often enabling in vivo monitoring. This review provides an overview of the latest advancements in biosensor technologies for ABA detection. We discuss different biosensor mechanisms in detail, ranging from electrochemical to optical platforms, along with their general strengths and limitations. Additionally, we highlight several biological insights gained through these biosensors, illustrating their impact on our understanding of the role of ABA signaling in plants. Finally, we consider the remaining challenges for field applications and explore the opportunities for sustainable agriculture. • Latest developments of biosensors for stress hormone abscisic acid (ABA) detection • Overview of electrochemical and optical sensing platforms for ABA detection • Overview of in vivo applications and spatiotemporal ABA dynamics in plants • Identifies challenges and future prospects for ABA biosensing
Volkaert et al. (2026) studied this question.