SnRK2 acts within an intricate network that links sucrose metabolic and stress signaling in wheat.

Drought, salinity and low temperature are major environmental factors that influence plant growth and development, and eventually limit crop yield and quality. To survive adverse stresses, plants have developed complex signaling networks to perceive external stimuli, and then manifest adaptive responses at molecular and physiological levels. Sucrose non-fermenting1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) plays a critical role in plant sugar signaling via phosphorylation, while knowledge of specific functions of SnRK2s in wheat is still undiscovered. In this paper, we reviewed our recent studies on wheat SnRK2 members, TaSnRK2.4, TaSnRK2.7 and TaSnRK2.8, involved in abiotic stress responses. The results suggest that the three wheat kinases participate in sugar metabolic and stress signaling in wheat. Furthermore, we compare their distinct transcript levels in various tissues, expression patterns under diverse stress conditions, and functions in transgenic Arabidopsis.