Salinity is a major abiotic stress that limits the growth and the productivity of the plants in so many areas of the world mainly due to irrigation with poor quality of water. Plant adaptation and tolerance to salinity stress involves complex physiological traits, metabolic pathways and molecular networks. Recent research has identified various adaptive responses to salinity stress at molecular, cellular, metabolic and physiological levels, although mechanisms underlying salinity tolerance are far from being completely understood. A comprehensive understanding of how plants respond to salinity stress at different levels is an integrated approach of combining molecular tools with physiological and biochemical techniques are imperative for the development of salt-tolerant varieties of plants in salt-affected areas This review provides a comprehensive review of major research advances on biochemical, physiological, and molecular mechanisms regulating plant adaptation and tolerance to salinity stress.
