Cis-regulatory elements in CAMTA-mediated stress signalling: mechanisms and prospects for CRISPR-based crop improvement

Enhancements in crop resilience strategies that maintain production are essential to address the challenges posed by climate change and increasing food consumption. Calcium-dependent signaling networks are essential for plant responses to abiotic and biotic stressors, with calmodulin-binding transcription activator (CAMTA) transcription factors serving as crucial regulators within this framework, as these factors govern gene expression through specific cis-regulatory elements located in promoter regions. Recent investigations have expanded to include CAMTA-binding motifs as the stress-responsive cis-regulatory modules across several plant species under examination. These findings indicate that CAMTA-associated cis-elements, comprising CGCG motifs and ABA-responsive regions, facilitate the integration of environmental signals that influence transcription. Cis-regulatory elements (CREs), such as promoters, enhancers, silencers, and insulators, control the exact timing and location of stress-responsive gene expression in plants. Recent breakthroughs in genome editing have enabled the direct manipulation of these cis-regulatory areas, facilitating precise control over gene expression. This work presents an overview of CAMTA structures, their interaction with promoter cis-regulatory regions, and the potential for promoter cis-element engineering to enhance agricultural performance under diverse settings. It emphasizes CRISPR-based strategies for precise CRE modifications and highlights the role of CAMTA in identifying stress-responsive regions. This establishes the foundation for the advancement of next-generation stress-resilient crops, which will ensure food security.