This book highlights some of the most important biochemical, physiological and molecular aspects of plant stress, together with the latest updates. It is divided into 14 chapters, written by eminent experts from around the globe and highlighting the effects of plant stress (biotic and abiotic) on the photosynthetic apparatus, metabolites, programmed cell death, germination etc. In turn, the role of beneficial elements, glutathione-S-transferase, phosphite and nitric oxide in the adaptive response of plants under stress and as a stimulator of better plant performance is also discussed. A dedicated chapter addresses research advances in connection with Capsicum, a commercially important plant, and stress tolerance, from classical breeding to the recent use of large-scale transcriptome and genome sequencing technologies. The book also explores the significance of the liliputians of the plant kingdom (Bryophytes) as biomonitors/bioindicators, and general and specialized bioinformatics resources that can benefit anyone working in the field of plant stress biology. Given the information compiled here, the book will offer a valuable guide for students and researchers of plant molecular biology and stress physiology alike.

Plants are subjected to numerous environmental stresses, which can be classified into two broad areas: abiotic and biotic stresses. While the first is considered the damage done to an organism by other living organisms, the latter occurs as a result of a negative impact of non-living factors on the organisms. In this scenario, the current most accepted opinion of scientists is that both biotic and abiotic factors in nature and agroecosystems are affected by climate change, which may lead to significant crop yield decreases worldwide. We should take into consideration not only this environmental concern but also the fact that 20 years from now the earth's population will need 55% more food than it can produce now. Therefore, it is crucial to address such concerns and bring about possible solutions to future plant stress-related outcomes that might affect global agriculture. This book intends to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of both biotic and abiotic stresses through 10 chapters that include case studies and literature reviews about these topics. There will be a particular focus on understanding the physiological, biochemical, and molecular changes observed in stressed plants as well as the mechanisms underlying stress tolerance in plants.

Priming-Mediated Stress and Cross-Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants provides the latest, in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with the development of stress and cross-stress tolerance in plants. Plants growing under field conditions are constantly exposed, either sequentially or simultaneously, to many abiotic or biotic stress factors. As a result, many plants have developed unique strategies to respond to ever-changing environmental conditions, enabling them to monitor their surroundings and adjust their metabolic systems to maintain homeostasis. Recently, priming mediated stress and cross-stress tolerance (i.e., greater tolerance to a second, stronger stress after exposure to a different, milder primary stress) have attracted considerable interest within the scientific community as potential means of stress management and for producing stress-resistant crops to aid global food security. Priming-Mediated Stress and Cross-Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants comprehensively reviews the physiological, biochemical, and molecular basis of cross-tolerance phenomena, allowing researchers to develop strategies to enhance crop productivity under stressful conditions and to utilize natural resources more efficiently. The book is a valuable asset for plant and agricultural scientists in corporate or government environments, as well as educators and advanced students looking to promote future research into plant stress tolerance. - Provides comprehensive information for developing multiple stress-tolerant crop varieties - Includes in-depth physiological, biochemical, and molecular information associated with cross-tolerance - Includes contribution from world-leading cross-tolerance research group - Presents color images and diagrams for effective communication of key concepts

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Biotic and Abiotic Stress Responses in Crop Plants" that was published in Agronomy

Transcription Factors for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants highlights advances in the understanding of the regulatory network that impacts plant health and production, providing important insights for improving plant resistance. Plant production worldwide is suffering serious losses due to widespread abiotic stresses increasing as a result of global climate change. Frequently more than one abiotic stress can occur at once, for example extreme temperature and osmotic stress, which increases the complexity of these environmental stresses. Modern genetic engineering technologies are one of the promising tools for development of plants with efficient yields and resilience to abiotic stresses. Hence deciphering the molecular mechanisms and identifying the abiotic stress associated genes that control plant response to abiotic stresses is a vital requirement in developing plants with increased abiotic stress resilience. Addressing the various complexities of transcriptional regulation, this book includes chapters on cross talk and central regulation, regulatory networks, the role of DOF, WRKY and NAC transcription factors, zinc finger proteins, CRISPR/CAS9-based genome editing, C-Repeat (CRT) binding factors (CBFs)/Dehydration responsive element binding factors (DREBs) and factors impacting salt, cold and phosphorous stress levels, as well as transcriptional modulation of genes involved in nanomaterial-plant interactions. Transcription Factors for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants provides a useful reference by unravelling the transcriptional regulatory networks in plants. Researchers and advanced students will find this book a valuable reference for understanding this vital area. Discusses abiotic stress tolerance and adaptive mechanisms based on the findings generated by unlocking the transcriptional regulatory network in plants Presents various kinds of regulatory gene networks identified for drought, salinity, cold and heat stress in plants Highlights urgent climate change issues in plants and their mitigation using modern biotechnological tools including genome editing.

The impact of global climate change on crop production has emerged as a major research priority during the past decade. Understanding abiotic stress factors such as temperature and drought tolerance and biotic stress tolerance traits such as insect pest and pathogen resistance in combination with high yield in plants is of paramount importance to counter climate change related adverse effects on the productivity of crops. In this multi-authored book, we present synthesis of information for developing strategies to combat plant stress. Our effort here is to present a judicious mixture of basic as well as applied research outlooks so as to interest workers in all areas of plant science. We trust that the information covered in this book would bridge the much-researched area of stress in plants with the much-needed information for evolving climate-ready crop cultivars to ensure food security in the future.

Plant diseases, extreme weather caused by climate change, drought and an increase in metals in soil are amongst the major limiting factors of crop production worldwide. They devastate not only food supply but also the economy of a nation. Keeping in view of the global food scarcity, there is, an urgent need to develop crop plants with increased stress tolerance so as to meet the global food demands and to preserve the quality of our planet. In order to do this, it is necessary to understand how plants react and adapt to stress from the genomic and proteomic perspective. Plants adapt to stress conditions by activation of cascades of molecular mechanisms, which result in alterations in gene expression and synthesis of protective proteins/compounds. From the perception of the stimulus to transduction of the signal, followed by an appropriate response, the plants employ a complex network of primary and secondary messenger molecules. Cell signaling is the component of a complex system of communication that directs basic cellular activities and synchronizes cell actions. Cells exercise a large number of noticeably distinct signaling pathways to regulate their activity. In order to contend with different environmental adversities plants have developed a series of mechanisms at the physiological, cellular and molecular level. This two volume set takes an in-depth look at the Stress Signaling in Plants from a uniquely genomic and proteomics perspective. Stress Signaling in Plants offers a comprehensive treatise on the Chapter, covering all of the signaling pathways and mechanisms that have been researched so far. Each chapter provides in-depth explanation of what we currently know of a particular aspect of stress signaling and where we are headed. All authors have currently agreed and abstracts have been complied for the first volume, due out midway through 2012. We aim to have the second volume out at the beginning of 2013.​

The rapid population growth and the increase in the per capita income, especially in the group of emerging countries referred to as BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has created huge pressure for the expansion of the agricultural growing area and the crop yields to meet the rising demand. As a result, many areas that have been considered marginal for growing crops, due to their low fertility, drought, salinity, and many other abiotic stresses, have now been incorporated in the production system. Additionally, climate change has brought new challenges to agriculture to produce food, feed, fiber and biofuels. To cope with these new challenges, many plant breeding programs have reoriented their breeding scope to stress tolerance in the last years. The authors of this book have collected the most recent advances and discoveries applied to breeding for abiotic stresses in this book, starting with new physiological concepts and breeding methods, and moving on to discuss modern molecular biological approaches geared to the development of improved cultivars tolerant to most sorts of abiotic stress. Written in an easy to understand style, this book is an excellent reference work for students, scientists and farmers interested in learning how to breed for abiotic stresses scenarios, presenting the state-of-the-art in plant stresses and allowing the reader to develop a greater understanding of the basic mechanisms of tolerance to abiotic stresses and how to breed for them.

With the erratic changes in climate, crop plants are facing many forms of biotic stresses. When plants are under stress, among several gene families, regulatory genes play a vital role in signal transduction in modulating the expression of genes underpinning several defense pathways and targeting regulatory proteins (viz, transcription factors (TFs)) can be the alternative. Transcription factors directly regulate the downstream R genes and are excellent candidates for disease resistance breeding. Till date, numerous transcription factors have been identified and characterized structurally and functionally. Of them, TF families such as WRKY, NAC, Whirly, Apetala2 (AP2), ethylene responsive elements (ERF) etc. are found to be associated with transcriptional reprogramming of plant defense response. These TFs are responsive to the pathogen’s PAMPs/DAMPs - host’s PRR protein interactions and specifically binds to the cis-elements of defense genes and regulate their expression. With this background, realizing the importance of TFs in resistance breeding, this book discusses the recent research and developments in this field for various crops.

The natural environment for plants is composed of a complex set of abiotic and biotic stresses; plant responses to these stresses are equally complex. Systems biology allows us to identify regulatory hubs in complex networks. It also examines the molecular “parts” (transcripts, proteins and metabolites) of an organism and attempts to combine them into functional networks or models that effectively describe and predict the dynamic activities of that organism in different environments. This book focuses on research advances regarding plant responses to abiotic stresses, from the physiological level to the molecular level. It highlights new insights gained from the integration of omics datasets and identifies remaining gaps in our knowledge, outlining additional focus areas for future crop improvement research. Plants have evolved a wide range of mechanisms for coping with various abiotic stresses. In many crop plants, the molecular mechanisms involved in a single type of stress tolerance have since been identified; however, in order to arrive at a holistic understanding of major and common events concerning abiotic stresses, the signaling pathways involved must also be elucidated. To date several molecules, like transcription factors and kinases, have been identified as promising candidates that are involved in crosstalk between stress signalling pathways. However, there is a need to better understand the tolerance mechanisms for different abiotic stresses by thoroughly grasping the signalling and sensing mechanisms involved. Accordingly, this book covers a range of topics, including the impacts of different abiotic stresses on plants, the molecular mechanisms leading to tolerance for different abiotic stresses, signaling cascades revealing cross-talk among various abiotic stresses, and elucidation of major candidate molecules that may provide abiotic stress tolerance in plants.