Abstract: Elymus is an economically important genus belonging to the tribe Triticeae, within the grass family, Poaceae. In China it is mainly found at altitudes of 2000-5200 m. Most species in this genus have potential as forage grasses, as they have a high feeding value. Some species show wide adaptability and excellent abiotic stress tolerance, including salt tolerance, drought resistance, and cold resistance, among others. Elymus also has a rich genetic diversity. Therefore, members of this genus are not only important species for ecological restoration, but can also provide excellent genetic resources for improvement of other grass and cereal crop species. Worldwide, there are over 30 species of Elymus, of which thirteen species are distributed in China, including Elymus sibiricus, Elymus nutans, Elymus dahuricus, Elymus breviaristatus, Elymus cylindricus, and others. In the past few years, on account of increased abiotic stress caused by global change arising from human activities, more and more researches have focused on the resistance to abiotic stresses of Elymus, including salt tolerance, drought tolerance, low temperature tolerance, resistance to heavy metals and multiple stress tolerance. Most of this research on abiotic stress tolerance of Elymus species has been carried out by Chinese researchers, and has involved a comparison between different species, and/or different varieties or germplasm lines from Elymus or related species. There is also a suite of commonly investigated physiological indicators, such as electrolyte leakage, chlorophyll content, accumulation of proline and other osmoregulatory substances, and activities of antioxidase, and related enzymes. These studies have employed a variety of analysis methods and evaluation systems, which has led to conflicting results in some cases. In addition, there has been little research into the mechanisms conferring tolerance to environmental stresses, apart from some exploration of chilling tolerance in E. nutans. This review summarizes the research progress in the last few years into abiotic stress tolerance of Elymus, and identifies the existing gaps in knowledge and the direction for future research. In this way it is hoped to lay the foundation for further extraction and utilization of the diverse genetic resources of Elymus.

Key words: Elymus, stress resistance, salt, drought, low temperature