Abstract
The natural environment for plants is composed of a complex set of abiotic stresses and biotic stresses. Plant
responses to these stresses are equally complex. Systems biology approaches facilitate a multi-targeted approach
by allowing one to identify regulatory hubs in complex networks. Systems biology takes the molecular parts
(transcripts, proteins and metabolites) of an organism and attempts to fit them into functional networks or models
designed to describe and predict the dynamic activities of that organism in different environments. In this review,
research progress in plant responses to abiotic stresses is summarized from the physiological level to the molecular
level. New insights obtained from the integration of omics datasets are highlighted. Gaps in our knowledge are
identified, providing additional focus areas for crop improvement research in the future