REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Biotechnology
Natural Genetic Variation in Calcium Sensor Genes as a Novel Resource for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crops
Provisionally accepted
Abdul Kadir Issah1,2*
Yu Wang2
Samuel Azupio2,3Hongmei Zhang2Jing Chu2Warahama Sayibu4
Qing Xie2Xingyu Jiang2- 1Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
- 2Guangdong Ocean University School of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Zhanjiang, China
- 3Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Accra, Ghana
- 4University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
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Abiotic stress represents a significant and increasing challenge to global crop productivity and food security. Calcium (Ca2+) signaling, initiated by specific “Ca2+ signatures” and interpreted by sensor proteins such as calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs/CPKs) and the CBL-CIPK network, functions as a key regulator of plant adaptive responses. However, contemporary elite cultivars exhibit a reduced genetic base, having forfeited numerous resilient alleles present in wild relatives and landraces during intensive, yield-focused breeding. This review synthesizes evidence demonstrating that natural genetic variation within these calcium sensor genes significantly influences key agronomic traits, including ion homeostasis, stomatal regulation, and water-use efficiency. We then evaluate the effectiveness of integrated genomic approaches, such as pan-genomics, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, for systematically identifying and validating these beneficial alleles. Finally, we propose a translational roadmap for the targeted introgression of enhanced calcium sensor variants into modern germplasm. This work provides a strategic framework for developing a new generation of climate-resilient crops, offering a pathway to safeguard global food systems against increasingly erratic environmental conditions.
Keywords: Abiotic stress tolerance, Calcium Signaling, climate-resilient crops, Crop wild relatives, Genome editing, Natural genetic variation
Received: 15 Nov 2025; Accepted: 04 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Issah, Wang, Azupio, Zhang, Chu, Sayibu, Xie and Jiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Abdul Kadir Issah
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