The regulatory role of phytohormones in plant drought tolerance

Drought stress significantly impairs plant growth, development and productivity. The likelihood of adverse impacts of drought will increase due to variations in global climate patterns. Phytohormones serve as key regulators of drought tolerance mechanisms in plants. The in-depth understanding of the role and signaling of such hormones is thus of great significance for plant stress management. In this review, we conducted a bibliometric analysis and thematic mapping of recent research on drought and phytohormones, and phytohormone interactions. It is assumed that different classes of phytohormones such as abscisic acid (ABA), auxins (IAA), cytokinins (CTK), ethylene (ETH), gibberellic acid (GA), brassinosteroids (BRs), salicylates (SA), jasmonates (JA), and strigolactones (SLs) play a pivotal role in drought resistance mechanisms in many crops. The present work highlights recent advances in plant responses to drought and uncovers the recent functions of phytohormones in the establishment of drought-specific tolerance strategies. It also deciphers the various interactions between phytohormones allowing plant adaptation to drought stress. Overall, this review highlights recent and original discoveries useful for developing new strategies to improve plant resistance to drought.