Research progress on NAC transcription factors in response to drought stress

With the exacerbation of global climate change, land desertification has become a key factor threatening global food security. Drought stress constrains agricultural production through affecting the geographical distribution patterns of crops, disrupting growth and development processes, and reducing yield and quality. The adaptive regulation of plants in drought environments involves complex molecular networks, in which transcription factors (TFs) play a crucial role as central regulators of gene expression. The NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, CUC1/2) TF family, as a plant-specific regulatory module, plays a significant role in the drought response mechanism by integrating plant physiological regulation, hormone signal transduction, and gene expression control networks. Based on this, the use of biotechnology to improve the function of crop NAC TFs can not only significantly enhance the drought resistance and stability of crops such as sweet potatoes, sorghum, and wheat in arid areas but also confer more substantial water stress tolerance on non-drought-resistant crops, including rice and tomatoes. This provides an innovative solution for expanding the range of suitable crops in dry and semi-arid areas.