Foreword
Adapting Crop Plants to Stress in a Changing Climate
The earth is undergoing rapid warming due to increased greenhouse gasses in the
atmosphere. Climate changes resulting in increased temperature and decreased
rainfall will lead to increased abiotic and biotic stresses in crop plants. It is clear
that it is left to scientists and agriculturists to find ways to mitigate the coming
increased stresses on crop plants. We must find solutions to the increased stress in
crops that do not result in environmental degradation due to fertilizer runoff into
streams, lakes, and oceans or fungicides and pesticides that have adverse impacts on
nontarget organisms and processes. One solution to confer stress is the use of
microbes that enter into plant tissues as endophytes. Over several years, it has
become clear that endophytic microbes modify a plant’s tolerance to biotic and
abiotic stresses (Hardoim et al. 2015; Khan et al. 2012; White et al. 2019). In some
cases, increased stress tolerance may stem from microbial capacity to produce ACC
deaminase that reduces the buildup of ethylene in tissues of plants and reduces stress
reactions (Bacon and White 2016). In other cases, endophyte-mediated stress reduction is thought to be the result of increased oxidative stress tolerance in plants. The
endophyte-mediated antioxidants and other oxidative stress mitigation molecules act
as biostimulants which elicit an oxidative response in plant cells and tissues (Irizarry
and White 2017; White et al. 2019).
Endophytic microbes are not the only solution to stress in crop plants. In this
book, Dr. Bhoopander Giri and Dr. Mahaveer Prasad Sharma have assembled
chapters from many authors that further explore how stress is manifested in plants
and how it may be mitigated. The chapter topics include: (1) microbe-mediated
abiotic stress protection; (2) breeding for stress resistance; (3) nutrient used efficiency and its relationship to stress resistance; (4) use of plant hormones to increase
stress tolerance in plants; (5) the role of synthetic biology in future stress adaptation
in crop plants; and (6) signaling molecule involvement in crop tolerance of stress.
Additional topics are covered that highlight increased stress tolerance as a means to
v v
Adapting Crop Plants to Stress in a Changing Climate
The earth is undergoing rapid warming due to increased greenhouse gasses in the
atmosphere. Climate changes resulting in increased temperature and decreased
rainfall will lead to increased abiotic and biotic stresses in crop plants. It is clear
that it is left to scientists and agriculturists to find ways to mitigate the coming
increased stresses on crop plants. We must find solutions to the increased stress in
crops that do not result in environmental degradation due to fertilizer runoff into
streams, lakes, and oceans or fungicides and pesticides that have adverse impacts on
nontarget organisms and processes. One solution to confer stress is the use of
microbes that enter into plant tissues as endophytes. Over several years, it has
become clear that endophytic microbes modify a plant’s tolerance to biotic and
abiotic stresses (Hardoim et al. 2015; Khan et al. 2012; White et al. 2019). In some
cases, increased stress tolerance may stem from microbial capacity to produce ACC
deaminase that reduces the buildup of ethylene in tissues of plants and reduces stress
reactions (Bacon and White 2016). In other cases, endophyte-mediated stress reduction is thought to be the result of increased oxidative stress tolerance in plants. The
endophyte-mediated antioxidants and other oxidative stress mitigation molecules act
as biostimulants which elicit an oxidative response in plant cells and tissues (Irizarry
and White 2017; White et al. 2019).
Endophytic microbes are not the only solution to stress in crop plants. In this
book, Dr. Bhoopander Giri and Dr. Mahaveer Prasad Sharma have assembled
chapters from many authors that further explore how stress is manifested in plants
and how it may be mitigated. The chapter topics include: (1) microbe-mediated
abiotic stress protection; (2) breeding for stress resistance; (3) nutrient used efficiency and its relationship to stress resistance; (4) use of plant hormones to increase
stress tolerance in plants; (5) the role of synthetic biology in future stress adaptation
in crop plants; and (6) signaling molecule involvement in crop tolerance of stress.
Additional topics are covered that highlight increased stress tolerance as a means to
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