To survive in challenging environments, plants must rapidly activate immune responses while maintaining developmental plasticity and reproductive success. This requires continuous negotiation of limited energy and metabolic resources between growth, development, and defense. Ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis has emerged as a versatile regulatory mechanism that may integrate immune responses with plant developmental programs. In this review, we summarize accumulating evidence that ubiquitination shapes immune responses at multiple regulatory levels. Many of these immune-regulatory mechanisms depend on ubiquitin-dependent pathways that also govern developmental processes and cell cycle regulation. This overlap points to shared molecular nodes that integrate defense with growth. This functional overlap provides a mechanistic basis for growth–defense trade-offs and highlights how plants optimize fitness under stress conditions. Together, these findings position ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis as a unifying regulatory framework through which plants integrate immune responses with developmental programs and cell cycle control. This coordination helps maintain resilience and productivity in a fluctuating environment.

Among the most cultivated crops worldwide, potato ( Solanum tuberosum) faces significant threats from water scarcity, owing to its shallow root system and high irrigation requirement. Water deficit disturbs homeostasis and critical physiological mechanisms, including photosynthesis, carbohydrate translocation, and starch metabolism in tuberous plants. It reduces CO₂ assimilation, modulates the expression of key enzymes involved in starch synthesis, such as ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and starch synthases, and alters the amylose–amylopectin ratio, consequently affecting their rheological properties. Additionally, drought triggers antioxidant and metabolic responses in plants, including the accumulation of secondary metabolites and the regulation of stress tolerance-related genes. Transcriptomic analyses have revealed water-deficit responsive genes, such as StMAPK11 , StCDPK13 , and StERF94 , which contribute to stress adaptation. This review also explores mitigation strategies and genetic improvement approaches, including the application of biostimulants (chitosan, uniconazole), ZnO and SiO₂ nanoparticles, and the selection of more drought-tolerant genotypes. Recent advances in biotechnology, including gene editing and omics technologies, have contributed to the development of stress-resilient potato varieties.