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 quality
Crop 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.
Author(s): Amarjit Basra
Publisher: CRC Press
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 316
City: Boca Raton
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
About the Editor
Contributors
Preface
Chapter 1: Mechanisms of Chilling Injury and Tolerance
Introduction
Maize Seedlings Serve as a Model System to Study Chilling Effects
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
