The exploration of stomatal development for crop stress resistance.

The growth and yield of crop plants are threatened by environmental challenges such as water deficit, soil flooding, high salinity, and extreme temperatures, which become increasingly severe under climate change. Stomata greatly contribute to plant adaptation to stressful environments by governing transpirational water loss and photosynthetic gas exchange. Increasing evidence has revealed that stomata formation is shaped by transcription factors, signaling peptides, and protein kinases, which could be exploited for improving crop stress resistance. The past decades have seen unprecedented progress in our understanding of stomata formation, while most of these advances come from research on model plants. This review highlights the most recent advances in studies of crop stomata formation and its multifaceted functions in abiotic stress tolerance. Current strategies, limitations, and future directions on harnessing stomatal development for improving crop stress resistance are discussed.