Drought and high-temperature stress increasingly co-occur under climate change scenarios, posing severe threats to crop productivity globally, with particular concern for rainfed cereal systems such as wheat. The combined impact of these stresses on plant growth, development, biomass accumulation, and yield can differ substantially from their individual effects, yet evidence from diverse plant species shows that cytokinin (CK) signaling plays a pivotal role in mediating tolerance to both individual and combined stresses. Drought stress disrupts CK homeostasis by inhibiting its synthesis and accelerating its degradation, resulting in reduced CK levels in both roots and shoots. Enhancing endogenous CK levels either through exogenous application or genetic modification, such as overexpression of the isopentenyl transferase (ipt) gene involved in cytokinin biosynthesis, has shown promising results in improving plant stress tolerance and land-use efficiency. This review summarizes recent advances in cytokinin research related to plant stress responses and discusses prospects for its application in improving crop resilience.
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