Crop Responses and Adaptations to Temperate Stress Insights and Approaches

About this book

Examine the ways in which various plants respond when exposed to high and low temperatures! The growing demand for food makes breeding for high-yielding crops with built-in resistance against environmental constraints one of the most important challenges for plant breeders today. Crop Responses and Adaptations to Temperature Stress investigates the adaptive mechanisms plants have evolved in response to unfavorable temperature conditions. It describes gene transfer technology and other tolerance improvement techniques that aid in developing stress-tolerant plants. Adverse environmental stress conditions, such as extreme temperatures, affect the productivity of important world food crops by inhibiting plant growth and development. Crop Responses and Adaptations to Temperature Stress provides valuable information on the mechanisms of stress tolerance in plants that encourage growth and enhance yield performance. Agriculture professionals, researchers, and plant breeders will benefit from the ideas shared on such topics as: mechanisms of chilling injury and tolerance injury and acclimation of root system functions during chilling temperatures mechanisms of cold acclimation signal transduction under low-temperature stress mechanisms of thermotolerance in crops control of the heat shock response in crop plants the effects of heat stress on cereal yield and qualityCrop Responses and Adaptations to Temperature Stress presents detailed discussions on the effects and outcomes of crop exposure to low and high temperatures. The textual information is liberally supplemented with visual representations of field experiment data as well as comprehensive tables and schematic drawings.In addition to a detailed review of current knowledge on the molecular biology of plant responses to temperature stress and an introduction to biotechnological advances in improving crop tolerance, Crop Responses and Adaptations to Temperature Stress suggests avenues for further study and speculates on the implications of such work for the future of food production.

Contents

Contents About the Editor Contributors Preface Chapter 1. Mechanisms of Chilling Injury and Tolerance Introduction Maize Seedlings Serve As a Model System Chilling Induces Oxidative Stress in the Tissues Mechanisms of Chilling Responses Antioxidant Gene Expression Responsive to Chilling Stress Possible Roles of Hydrogen Peroxide in Signaling Mechanisms Summary of Chilling Stress and Tolerance Mechanisms in Maize Genetic Engineering of Chilling (Cold) Tolerance Concluding Remarks Chapter 2. Chilling Effects on Active Oxygen Species and Their Scavenging Systems in Plants An Oxygenated Environment Active Oxygen Species Active Oxygen Scavenging Systems Chilling Effects on Plants Chilling Effects on Photosynthesis and Active Oxygen Species Production Effects of Chilling on Antioxidant Systems Conclusions Chapter 3. Root System Functions During Chilling Temperatures: Injury and Acclimation Introduction Chilling Inhibition of Root Growth Water Relations During Chilling Mineral Uptake Circadian Rhythms Hormones in Chilled Roots Root System Acclimation Conclusion Chapter 4. Mechanisms of Cold Acclimation Introduction Control of Water Status Control of Cell Dehydration Membrane Stabilization Induction of Cryoprotective Proteins Molecular Changes Related to Protein Synthesis Cold-Induced Gene Products of Unknown Function Regulation of Molecular Adaptations to Cold Conclusion Chapter 5. Signal Transduction Under Low Temperature Stress Introduction Low-Temperature Control of Gene Expression Genetic Dissection of Signal Pathways Engineering Freezing-Tolerant Crops Chapter 6. Mechanisms of Thermotolerance in Crops Introduction Impact of High Temperature on Crops Defense Mechanisms Against High-Temperature-Induced Damage Molecular Strategies for Enhancing Thermotolerance in Crops Conclusions and Perspectives Chapter 7. Control of the Heat Shock Response in Crop Plants Introduction Expression of HSPs Following Stress and During Development The Impact of Heat Shock on Transcription Effects of Heat Shock on Protein Yield Heat-Induced Changes in the Translational Machinery of Crop Plants HSP mRNAs Escape Heat Shock-Induced Translational Repression Regulation of RNA Degradatory Machinery Following Heat Shock Conclusions Chapter 8. The Effects of Heat Stress on Cereal Yield and Quality Introduction Effects of High Temperature on Yield Effects of High Temperature on Quality Strategies for Coping with Heat Stress Conclusions Index Reference Notes Included

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