WRKY Transcription Factor Family in Maize ( <scp> <i>Zea mays</i> </scp> ) Stress Resistance: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT WRKY transcription factors are central regulators of plant stress responses, yet current evidence on their functional roles and translational potential in maize ( Zea mays L.) is fragmented. A clearer synthesis is needed to understand how WRKY‐focused research has been designed, where it is concentrated and where critical gaps remain. We conducted a PRISMA‐guided systematic review and qualitative synthesis of 16 peer‐reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2023 that investigated WRKY or WRKY‐related genes in maize under abiotic or biotic stress. Studies were identified from international and Chinese databases and screened using predefined eligibility criteria. Key study characteristics, methodological approaches and reported outcomes were tabulated, and patterns were summarized descriptively; no quantitative meta‐analysis or statistical pooling was performed. The evidence base was strongly biased towards maize, with only two studies in sorghum and none in other major cereals. Functional validation (6/16) and genome‐wide analyses (4/16) were the dominant research types, while single‐cell RNA sequencing and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing together appeared in 4/16 studies. Among functional validation studies, five of six reported positive regulatory effects on stress tolerance and one reported negative regulation, indicating a pronounced skew towards beneficial outcomes. Field or near‐field validation was included in only two studies, and no study implemented multiomics integration. This systematic review and qualitative synthesis reveal substantial taxonomic, methodological and reporting biases in WRKY research on maize stress resistance. Future work should diversify target cereal species, more fully investigate negative or neutral regulatory mechanisms, expand field‐based validation and adopt integrative experimental frameworks to support reliable agricultural application of WRKY‐based strategies.