Abstract
This chapter review effects of drought stress on plants, and presents a list of transgenic plants tolerating drought stress. Many abiotic and biotic stresses are regularly affecting agricultural production. None are now under direct human control. Abiotic stresses such as drought, extreme temperature and salinity have clearly changed crops growth and yields in last two decades. Drought stress is the major stress affecting crop growth, development and yields. Drought stress may leave the lands barren for years to come if not taken care of at the right time. Drought is a major phenomenon leading to major crop losses. We can see the degree of drought stress severity on plants by symptoms and effects on physiological metabolisms and yield. Many symptoms of drought stress are clear such as leaf rolling, yellowing (chlorosis), browning and wilting. At the physiological level, drought stress alters the complete physiology and metabolism of plants. Drought stress modifies photosynthetic rate, relative water content, leaf water potential, and stomata conductance. Ultimately, it destabilizes the membrane structure and permeability, protein structure and function, leading to cell death.
We reviewed the severity of drought stress and molecular mechanisms adopted by plants. Plants can escape, avoid or tolerate drought stress using unusual mechanisms. Tolerance against drought is provided either directly through metabolites like trehalose, mannitol, glycinebetaine or indirectly through regulation of gene expression by transcription factors and kinases in signal transduction. The molecular response of plants to drought stress has been often considered as a complex process mainly based on the modulation of transcriptional activity of stress-related genes. Understanding the mechanisms behind these molecules and genes is needed for their usage in developing transgenics that would withstand drought stress and improve the agriculture productivity.
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Abbreviations
- ROS:
-
reactive oxygen species
- SOD:
-
superoxide dismutase
- CAT:
-
catalase
- POD:
-
peroxidases
- GDH:
-
Glutamate dehydrogenase
- TPS:
-
trehalose phosphate synthase
- GSMT:
-
glycine sarcosine methyltransferase
- DMT:
-
dimethyl glycine methyltransferase
- COX:
-
choline oxidase
- CODA:
-
choline dehydrogenase
- ADC:
-
arginine decarboxylase
- SPDS:
-
spermidine synthase
- ODC:
-
ornithine decarboxylase
- SAMDC:
-
S-adenosyl-methionine decarboxylase
- P5CS:
-
pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase
- PEG:
-
polyethylene glycol
- IMT:
-
myoinositol O-methyl transferase
- LEA:
-
late embryogenesis abundant
- HSP:
-
heat shock protein
- DREB:
-
dehydration-responsive element binding protein
- CBF:
-
C-repeat binding factor
- CDPK:
-
calcium dependent protein kinase
- MAPK:
-
mitogen activated protein kinase
- CBL:
-
calcineurin B-like protein
- TF:
-
transcription factors
- ERA1:
-
enhanced response to ABA 1 farnesyltransferase
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Dr. P. S. Ahuja, Director, IHBT, for his continuous encouragement and guidance. JB would like to acknowledge Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Govt. of India for providing Diamond Jubilee Research Internship and Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India for providing research funds to the laboratory.
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Bhardwaj, J., Yadav, S.K. (2012). Genetic Mechanisms of Drought Stress Tolerance, Implications of Transgenic Crops for Agriculture. In: Lichtfouse, E. (eds) Agroecology and Strategies for Climate Change. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1905-7_9
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