Harnessing Antioxidants for Abiotic Stress Management: Mechanistic Insights and Prospects for Sustainable Agriculture

Abiotic stresses disrupt redox homeostasis and reduce crop productivity. Antioxidant networks support resilience by limiting excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) and maintaining redox signalling for stress perception, gene expression, and metabolic reprogramming. We summarize advances (2000-2025) in ROS generation, detoxification mechanisms, and signalling across organelles, including chloroplasts, mitochondria, peroxisomes, and the apoplast. This includes compartmentalized enzymes-superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and glutathione reductase (GR)-as well as the peroxiredoxin-thioredoxin system and non-enzymatic buffers like ascorbate, glutathione, tocopherols, carotenoids, and flavonoids. We uniquely synthesize these findings in a compartment-resolved "redox rheostat" model, linking ROS concentration-time windows (signaling vs. damage) to antioxidant network design (kinetic tiers, compartmentation, and trade-offs) and identifying intervention points for breeding, genome editing, and field-scale priming. We emphasize constraints, such as NADPH supply and antioxidant recycling capacity, that lead to context-dependent outcomes. We evaluate omics, transgenic strategies, genome editing (CRISPR and Cas systems), exogenous applications, and plant-microbe associations. This synthesis clarifies how antioxidant systems protect photosynthetic and respiratory machinery while supporting signalling, thus outlining routes to climate-resilient, yield-stable crops across varied environments and stresses.