Priming-a state of alert against environmental stress challenges in plants

The changing climatic conditions have led many plants to restrict their growth and suppress their yield. In their struggle for survival, plants employ unique strategies that help them grow under extreme weather conditions and challenging biotic interactions. Plants can enhance their tolerance through a key process called priming, which strengthens their immune system's response to stimuli from pathogens, beneficial microbes, chemicals, and abiotic cues. Priming provides long-term stress resistance to plants and is based on a rapid and robust defence response to environmental stress conditions. A milder form of stress or chemicals, such as sodium selenite, melatonin, β-aminobutyricacid, polyamines, calcium, zinc, hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen sulfide and sodium hydrosulphide, are used to preactivate plant defence mechanisms. These chemicals play crucial role in stabilizing plant growth by empowering plants to activate their own defence mechanisms and combat unforeseen stressors. This review primarily explores the role of priming phenomena and the mechanisms that enable plants to withstand stressful environmental conditions in their natural habitat.