Abstract. From the first land plants to the complex gymnosperms and angiosperms of today, environmental condi- tions have forced plants to develop molecular strategies to surpass natural obstacles to growth and proliferation, and these genetic gains have been transmitted to the following generations. In this long natural process, novel and elabor- ate mechanisms have evolved to enable plants to cope with environmental limitations. Elements in many signalling cas- cades enable plants to sense different, multiple and simultaneous ambient cues. A group of versatile master regulators of gene expression control plant responses to stressing conditions. For crop breeding purposes, the task is to determine how to activate these key regulators to enable accurate and optimal reactions to common stresses. In this review, we discuss how plants sense biotic and abiotic stresses, how and which master regulators are implied in the responses to these stresses, their evolution in the life kingdoms, and the domains in these proteins that interact with other factors to lead to a proper and efficient plant response.