Plant tolerance to salinity stress: Regulating transcription factors and their functional role in the cellular transcriptional network

In the agricultural field, abiotic stresses are considered the primary barrier that negatively impacts plant growth and development. Simple or complex pathways of molecular networks regulate the adaptability to multiple abiotic stresses and are the point of focus to address the solution regarding enhances plants' tolerance ability against abiotic stresses. Transcription factors (TFs) are regulatory genes involved in stress response by interacting with specific cis-regulatory elements present on the promoters of stress-related genes. These TFs play a vital role in producing stress-tolerant crops. In addition, general mechanisms against abiotic stresses include several transporters (HKT and NHX), the mitogen-activated (MAPK) cascade pathway, calcineurin B-like interacting protein kinase, and calcium-dependent protein kinases. Over the past decade, immense research work has been done using advanced molecular tools to evaluate the role of TFs in various crop plants. In this review, we will discuss the recent reports on NAC, GATA, and GRAS transcription factors family to understand updated regulatory functions involved in different abiotic stresses, particularly salt stress responses, as well as their potential applications in crop improvement.