Molecular basis of quinoa’s resilience to abiotic stresses: implications for climate-adaptive crop breeding

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) has emerged as a compelling model for understanding plant resilience to environmental adversity. As a facultative halophyte native to the Andean highlands, quinoa tolerates drought, salinity, temperature extremes, and nutrient-poor soils through a multi-layered molecular defense system that is both conserved with other plants and enriched with quinoa-specific innovations. This review synthesizes current knowledge of three interconnected regulatory tiers that underpin quinoa’s stress resilience. First, a suite of functional proteins provides the immediate cellular defense against stress-induced damage. Second, a diverse repertoire of transcription factor families orchestrates the transcriptional reprogramming required for stress adaptation, with several families showing quinoa-specific expansions and functionally validated members. Third, interconnected signaling networks integrate stress perception with adaptive responses through extensive crosstalk and feedback regulation. We further highlight how multi-omics approaches are revealing stress-specific regulatory hubs and genotype-dependent adaptive strategies. Finally, we identify critical knowledge gaps and propose research priorities that will be essential for translating mechanistic insights into climate-adaptive crop improvement.