Polyploidy and plant resilience to environmental stresses: Molecular mechanisms and future applications

Polyploidy, the condition of possessing more than two sets of chromosomes, is prevalent across the tree of life, particularly in green plants (Viridiplantae). It plays a crucial role in plant evolution, speciation, and adaptation. This review explores the intricate relationship between polyploidy and plant interactions with environmental stresses, focusing on recent studies demonstrating that polyploid plants often exhibit enhanced stress tolerance compared with related diploids, including various biochemical and physiological responses. We also review the role of epigenetic modifications in stress responses in diploids versus polyploids. The genetic redundancy conferred by polyploidy often results in the upregulation of stress-responsive genes and pathways, as well as neofunctionalization. Additionally, we highlight multi-omics approaches that compare polyploids with their diploid progenitors, emphasizing the complex interactions between ploidy and stress responses. These recent results collectively enhance our understanding of how polyploid plants, including crops, rewire metabolic pathways and protein networks, thereby optimizing their survival in challenging environments. This improved knowledge of polyploids and their stress responses is essential for understanding the success of polyploid plants in nature and for guiding future practical research applications. Harnessing polyploid traits through breeding programs could enhance crop resilience and promote sustainable agriculture. We also propose key areas for further investigation, highlighting the potential of traits in polyploid plants for mitigating the impacts of changing climatic conditions on global food security.