Abiotic Stress Signaling In Plants Functional Genomic Intervention

Abiotic stresses such as high temperature, low-temperature, drought and salinity limit crop productivity worldwide. Understanding plant responses to these stresses is essential for rational engineering of crop plants. In Arabidopsis, the signal transduction pathways for abiotic stresses, light, several phytohormones and pathogenesis have been elucidated. A significant portion of plant genomes (Arabidopsis and rice were mostly studied) encodes for proteins involves in signaling such as receptor, sensors, kinases, phosphatases, transcription factors and transporters/channels. Despite decades of physiological and molecular effort, knowledge pertaining to how plants sense and transduce low and high temperature, low-water availability (drought), water-submergence, microgravity and salinity signals is still a major question for plant biologist. One major constraint hampering our understanding of these signal transduction processes in plants has been the lack or slow pace of application of molecular genomic and genetics knowledge in the form of gene function. In the post-genomic era, one of the major challenges is investigation and understanding of multiple genes and gene families regulating a particular physiological and developmental aspect of plant life cycle. One of the important physiological processes is regulation of stress response, which leads to adaptation or adjustment in response to adverse stimuli. With the holistic understanding of the signaling pathways involving not only one gene family but multiple genes or gene families, plant biologist can lay a foundation for designing and generating future crops, which can withstand the higher degree of environmental stresses (especially abiotic stresses, which are the major cause of crop loss throughout the world) without losing crop yield and productivity. Therefore, in this e-Book, we intend to incorporate the contribution from leading plant biologists to elucidate several aspects of stress signaling by functional genomics approaches.

Abiotic stresses such as high temperature, low-temperature, drought and salinity limit crop productivity worldwide. Understanding plant responses to these stresses is essential for rational engineering of crop plants. In Arabidopsis, the signal transduction pathways for abiotic stresses, light, several phytohormones and pathogenesis have been elucidated. A significant portion of plant genomes (Arabidopsis and rice were mostly studied) encodes for proteins involves in signaling such as receptor, sensors, kinases, phosphatases, transcription factors and transporters/channels. Despite decades of physiological and molecular effort, knowledge pertaining to how plants sense and transduce low and high temperature, low-water availability (drought), water-submergence, microgravity and salinity signals is still a major question for plant biologist. One major constraint hampering our understanding of these signal transduction processes in plants has been the lack or slow pace of application of molecular genomic and genetics knowledge in the form of gene function. In the post-genomic era, one of the major challenges is investigation and understanding of multiple genes and gene families regulating a particular physiological and developmental aspect of plant life cycle. One of the important physiological processes is regulation of stress response, which leads to adaptation or adjustment in response to adverse stimuli. With the holistic understanding of the signaling pathways involving not only one gene family but multiple genes or gene families, plant biologist can lay a foundation for designing and generating future crops, which can withstand the higher degree of environmental stresses (especially abiotic stresses, which are the major cause of crop loss throughout the world) without losing crop yield and productivity. Therefore, in this e-Book, we intend to incorporate the contribution from leading plant biologists to elucidate several aspects of stress signaling by functional genomics approaches.

This Research Topic is part of the Abiotic Stress Signaling in Plants: Functional Genomic Intervention series: Abiotic Stress Signaling in Plants: Functional Genomic Intervention Abiotic stresses such as high temperature, low-temperature, drought and salinity limit crop productivity worldwide. Understanding plant responses to these stresses is essential for rational engineering of crop plants. In Arabidopsis, the signal transduction pathways for abiotic stresses, light, several phytohormones and pathogenesis have been elucidated. A significant portion of plant genomes (most studies are Arabidopsis and rice genome) encodes for proteins involves in signaling such as receptor, sensors, kinases, phosphatases, transcription factors and transporters/channels. Despite decades of physiological and molecular effort, knowledge pertaining to how plants sense and transduce low and high temperature, low-water availability (drought), water-submergence and salinity signals is still a major question before plant biologist. One major constraint hampering our understanding of these signal transduction processes in plants has been the lack or slow pace of application of molecular genomic and genetics knowledge in the form of gene function.

Abiotic stresses such as high temperature, low-temperature, drought, and salinity limit crop productivity worldwide. Understanding plant responses to these stresses is essential for rational engineering of crop plants. In Arabidopsis, the signal transduction pathways for abiotic stresses, light, several phytohormones and pathogenesis have been elucidated. A significant portion of plant genomes (most studies are Arabidopsis and rice genome) encodes for proteins involves in signaling such as receptor, sensors, kinases, phosphatases, transcription factors and transporters/channels. Despite decades of physiological and molecular effort, knowledge pertaining to how plants sense and transduce low and high temperature, low-water availability (drought), water-submergence and salinity signals is still a major question before plant biologists. One major constraint hampering our understanding of these signal transduction processes in plants has been the lack or slow pace of application of molecular genomic and genetics knowledge in the form of gene function. In the post-genomic era, one of the major challenges is investigation and understanding of multiple genes and gene families regulating a particular physiological and developmental aspect of plant life cycle. One of the important physiological processes is regulation of stress response, which leads to adaptation or adjustment in response to adverse stimuli. With the holistic understanding of the signaling pathways involving not only one gene family but multiple genes or gene families, plant biologists can lay a foundation for designing and generating future crops that can withstand the higher degree of environmental stresses (especially abiotic stresses, which are the major cause of crop loss throughout the world) without losing crop yield and productivity. Therefore, in this proposed book, we intend to incorporate the contribution from leading plant biologists to elucidate several aspects of stress signaling by functional genomic approaches.

​Abiotic stresses such as high temperature, low-temperature, drought, and salinity limit crop productivity worldwide. Understanding plant responses to these stresses is essential for rational engineering of crop plants. In Arabidopsis, the signal transduction pathways for abiotic stresses, light, several phytohormones and pathogenesis have been elucidated. A significant portion of plant genomes (most studies are Arabidopsis and rice genome) encodes for proteins involves in signaling such as receptor, sensors, kinases, phosphatases, transcription factors and transporters/channels. Despite decades of physiological and molecular effort, knowledge pertaining to how plants sense and transduce low and high temperature, low-water availability (drought), water-submergence and salinity signals is still a major question before plant biologists. One major constraint hampering our understanding of these signal transduction processes in plants has been the lack or slow pace of application of molecular genomic and genetics knowledge in the form of gene function. In the post-genomic era, one of the major challenges is investigation and understanding of multiple genes and gene families regulating a particular physiological and developmental aspect of plant life cycle. One of the important physiological processes is regulation of stress response, which leads to adaptation or adjustment in response to adverse stimuli. With the holistic understanding of the signaling pathways involving not only one gene family but multiple genes or gene families, plant biologists can lay a foundation for designing and generating future crops that can withstand the higher degree of environmental stresses (especially abiotic stresses, which are the major cause of crop loss throughout the world) without losing crop yield and productivity.

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.

This two-volume set takes an in-depth look at stress signaling in plants from a uniquely genomic and proteomic perspective and offers a comprehensive treatise that covers all of the signaling pathways and mechanisms that have been researched so far. Currently, 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 the food supply but also the economy of a nation. With global food scarcity in mind, 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 activating cascades of molecular mechanisms, which result in alterations in gene expression and synthesis of protective proteins. From the perception of the stimulus to the transduction of the signal, followed by an appropriate cellular response, the plants employ a complex network of primary and secondary messenger molecules. 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 levels that respond to stress. Each chapter in this volume provides an in-depth explanation of what we currently know of a particular aspect of stress signaling and where we are heading. Together with the highly successful first volume, Stress Signaling in Plants: Genomics and Proteomics Perspective, Volume 2 covers an important aspect of plant biology for both students and seasoned researchers.

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.​

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.