Nutrient driven stress resilience: Mechanisms of nutrient uptake, sensing and signaling in plants

Plants being rooted entities, are highly susceptible to diverse abiotic stresses that impair their growth and development. To encounter these adverse conditions, plants have developed several morpho-physiological and biochemical strategies. In particular, nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, sulfur and iron-play an important role in enhancing stress resilience by promoting growth and regulating key signaling pathways. This review focuses on the molecular mechanisms that govern nutrient sensing and signaling through sophisticated networks of nutrient transporters and signaling pathways. Additionally, this review highlights the interconnections between nutrient signaling and abiotic stresses that modulates physiological and metabolic responses to enhance stress resilience. Nutrient assimilation supports stress adaptations by improving metabolic stability, osmoregulation, antioxidant defence system, regulating stomatal conductance and osmolytes production. Progress in unravelling these molecular processes through biotechnological innovations and breeding approaches; offers the potential for developing stress resilient crops. This review underscores the potential of nutrient-based strategies to develop stress tolerant crops, emphasizing the need for more focused approaches to optimize nutrient applications under current emerging climate conditions. By linking fundamental plant biology with practical agricultural strategies, it provides valuable insights for improving crop productivity and ensuring sustainability in challenging environments.