Most eukaryotic genes undergo various post-transcriptional processing events before being translated into proteins. Alternative splicing (AS) is one such event and is an essential mechanism in post-transcriptional gene regulation that allows multiple mRNA variants to be expressed from a single pre-mRNA, thereby expending the functional capacity of a gene as well as the organismal complexity. With the advancement of next-generation sequencing technologies, extensive transcriptomic resources in plant species have determined crucial roles of AS in the regulation of developmental processes and adaption to environmental stresses. We review here recent studies of AS events and splicing factors that specifically affect abiotic-stress tolerance in crop plants, including other agricultural traits. Understanding how alternative splicing modulates plant development and abiotic-stress responses may provide new insights for improving the environmental fitness and productivity of crop plants.

大多数真核基因在翻译成蛋白质之前都会经历各种转录后加工过程。选择性剪接（AS）就是这样一种事件，并且是转录后基因调控中的必要机制，该机制允许从单个pre-mRNA表达多个mRNA变体，从而扩展了基因的功能能力和生物复杂性。随着下一代测序技术的发展，植物物种中广泛的转录组资源决定了AS在调控发育过程和适应环境胁迫方面的关键作用。我们在这里回顾了有关AS事件和剪接因子的最新研究，这些事件和剪接因子特别影响农作物的非生物胁迫耐受性，包括其他农业特性。