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Volume 16
Issue 12
10.3390/genes16121461
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Review

Autophagy-Mediated Adaptation: Revealing the Role of Autophagy in Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress

by
Zixuan Yu
1,
Abdul Waheed
2,
Daoyuan Zhang
2,3,4,5,6,
Asigul Ismayil
1,* and
Yakupjan Haxim
2,3,4,5,6,*
1
College of Life Sciences, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China
2
National Key Laboratory of Ecological Security and Sustainable Development in Arid Areas, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 800311, China
3
State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Geography and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
4
Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Plant Gene Resources, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
5
Turpan Eremophytes Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Turpan 838008, China
6
China-Tajikistan Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Genes 2025, 16(12), 1461; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16121461 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 5 November 2025 / Revised: 2 December 2025 / Accepted: 3 December 2025 / Published: 7 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Stress Response)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Autophagy, an evolutionarily conserved intracellular recycling pathway, is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis and enhancing plant resilience to a variety of abiotic stresses, including drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, and heavy metal toxicity. Be-yond its canonical role in nutrient recycling, autophagy is now recognized as a central regulator of stress signaling, hormonal crosstalk, and metabolic reprogramming. Here we synthesize the functions of autophagy under diverse abiotic stresses, highlighting its role in organellar quality control, metabolic adaptation, and stress-specific responses. We further discuss innovative strategies for enhancing crop resilience, including genome editing, integrative multi-omics analyses, and synthetic biology applications. Elucidating the autophagy regulatory network provides the foundation for designing next-generation crops that maintain high yield and resilience under climate-driven stress.
Keywords: autophagy; abiotic stress; autophagy-related genes; molecular mechanisms; crop resilience autophagy; abiotic stress; autophagy-related genes; molecular mechanisms; crop resilience

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Yu, Z.; Waheed, A.; Zhang, D.; Ismayil, A.; Haxim, Y. Autophagy-Mediated Adaptation: Revealing the Role of Autophagy in Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress. Genes 2025, 16, 1461. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16121461

AMA Style

Yu Z, Waheed A, Zhang D, Ismayil A, Haxim Y. Autophagy-Mediated Adaptation: Revealing the Role of Autophagy in Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress. Genes. 2025; 16(12):1461. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16121461

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yu, Zixuan, Abdul Waheed, Daoyuan Zhang, Asigul Ismayil, and Yakupjan Haxim. 2025. "Autophagy-Mediated Adaptation: Revealing the Role of Autophagy in Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress" Genes 16, no. 12: 1461. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16121461

APA Style

Yu, Z., Waheed, A., Zhang, D., Ismayil, A., & Haxim, Y. (2025). Autophagy-Mediated Adaptation: Revealing the Role of Autophagy in Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress. Genes, 16(12), 1461. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16121461

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