Strigolactones in Plant Responses to Salt Stress: Regulatory Mechanisms and Application Potential

Salt stress severely restricts plant growth and reduces crop yield. Strigolactones (SLs) are carotenoid-derived phytohormones involved in the regulation of plant salt tolerance. Salt stress can modulate the expression of SL biosynthetic and signaling genes, thereby affecting SL accumulation and signaling responses. SLs also interact with abscisic acid (ABA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and other signaling molecules to coordinate downstream stress responses. At the physiological level, SLs alleviate salt stress by maintaining Na⁺/K⁺ homeostasis, enhancing osmotic adjustment and antioxidant defense, and reducing damage to the photosynthetic system. In addition, SLs can enhance plant resource acquisition and adaptive capacity under salt stress by regulating root architecture and promoting hyphal branching of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). This review focuses on SL-mediated regulation of plant salt tolerance at the molecular and physiological levels and further summarizes exogenous SL application strategies for alleviating salt stress, as well as research progress on key genes in the SL pathway for the genetic improvement of salt tolerance. Clarifying the potential of SLs in regulating plant responses to salt stress could provide new insights into sustainable crop production in saline-alkali environments.