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Annual Review of Plant Biology

Volume 76, 2025

Target of Rapamycin (TOR): A Master Regulator in Plant Growth, Development, and Stress Responses

  • Yanlin Liu1,2,*, Jun Hu1,2,*, Xiaoli Duan2, Wenlong Ding2, Menglan Xu2 and Yan Xiong1,2
  • 1Synthetic Biology Center, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China; email: [email protected], [email protected] 2Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
    * These authors contributed equally to this article
  • Vol. 76:341-371 (Volume publication date May 2025)
  • First published as a Review in Advance on February 14, 2025
  • Copyright © 2025 by the author(s).
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See credit lines of images or other third-party material in this article for license information.

Abstract

The target of rapamycin (TOR) is a central regulator of growth, development, and stress adaptation in plants. This review delves into the molecular intricacies of TOR signaling, highlighting its conservation and specificity across eukaryotic lineages. We explore the molecular architecture of TOR complexes, their regulation by a myriad of upstream signals, and their consequential impacts on plant physiology. The roles of TOR in orchestrating nutrient sensing, hormonal cues, and environmental signals are highlighted, illustrating its pivotal function in modulating plant growth and development. Furthermore, we examine the impact of TOR on plant responses to various biotic and abiotic stresses, underscoring its potential as a target for agricultural improvements. This synthesis of current knowledge on plant TOR signaling sheds light on the complex interplay between growth promotion and stress adaptation, offering a foundation for future research and applications in plant biology.

Keyword(s): amino acid sensing, glucose signaling, SNF1-related protein kinase 1, target of rapamycin, trade-off
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2025-05-20
2025-06-20
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/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-arplant-083123-050311
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Target of Rapamycin (TOR): A Master Regulator in Plant Growth, Development, and Stress Responses
Annual Review of Plant Biology 76, 341 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-083123-050311
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-arplant-083123-050311
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-arplant-083123-050311
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