329 © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 S. M. Zargar, M. Y. Zargar (eds.), Abiotic Stress-Mediated Sensing and Signaling in Plants: An Omics Perspective, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7479-0_12 S. Rasool · U. Urwat · M. Nazir · S. M. Zargar (*) Division of Plant Biotechnology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India M. Y. Zargar Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India 12 Cross Talk Between Phytohormone Signaling Pathways Under Abiotic Stress Conditions and Their Metabolic Engineering for Conferring Abiotic Stress Tolerance Sheezan Rasool, Uneeb Urwat, Muslima Nazir, Sajad Majeed Zargar, and M. Y. Zargar Abstract The environmental stresses, both biotic and abiotic, reduce crop harvests dra- matically. However, abiotic stresses are responsible for the lion’s share of harvest losses. We really need to devise strategies to prevent crop losses, so that we could meet the food demands of ever-growing human population. So, the need of the hour is to identify and understand the mechanisms deployed by plants to coun- teract abiotic stresses. Plants perceive and react to environmental stresses in a highly coordinated and interactive manner. Being sessile, plasticity enables them to adapt to harsh changing environmental conditions, mediated by elaborate sig- naling networks. The perception of abiotic stress triggers the activation of signal transduction cascades that interact with the baseline pathways transduced by phytohormones. The convergence points among hormone signal transduction cascades are considered cross talk, and together they form a signaling network. Through this mechanism, hormones interact by activating either a common sec- ond messenger or through a phosphorylation cascade. This chapter reviews the possible roles of phytohormones in abiotic stress tolerance and cross talk between phytohormone signaling and also about the metabolic engineering of phytohor- mones for conferring abiotic stress tolerance on crop plants which can prove an excellent target to prevent crop losses and mitigate the problem of feeding to increasing human population.