Effects of brassinosteroids on the plant responses to environmental stresses

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the main cereals grown around the world. It is used for human and animal nutrition and also as biofuel. However, as a direct consequence of global climate change, increased abiotic and biotic stress events have been reported in different regions of the world, which have become a threat to world maize yields. Drought and heat are environmental stresses that influence the growth, development, and yield processes of maize crops. Plants have developed dynamic responses at the physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels that allow them to escape, avoid and/or tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions. Arthropod herbivory can generate resistance or tolerance responses in plants that are associated with inducible and constitutive defenses. Increases in the frequency and severity of abiotic stress events (drought and heat), as a consequence of climate change, can generate critical variations in plant-insect interactions. However, the behavior of herbivorous arthropods under drought scenarios is not well understood, and this kind of stress may have some positive and negative effects on arthropod populations. The simultaneous appearance of different environmental stresses and biotic factors results in very complex plant responses. In this review, recent information is provided on the physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of plants to the combination of drought, heat stress, and the effect on some arthropod pests of interest in the maize crop.

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Genetic approaches to study plant responses to environmental stresses

10.31221/osf.io/cxbdw ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Khaled Moustafa ◽

Joanna M. Cross

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Next Generation Sequencing ◽

Systems Biology ◽

Massively Parallel Sequencing ◽

Environmental Stresses ◽

Plant Responses ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Next Generation ◽

Rnase Protection ◽

Generation Sequencing

The assessment of gene expression levels is an important step toward elucidating gene functions temporally and spatially. Decades ago, typical studies were focusing on a few genes individually, whereas now researchers are able to examine whole genomes at once. The upgrade of throughput levels aided the introduction of systems biology approaches whereby cell functional networks can be scrutinized in their entireties to unravel potential functional interacting components. The birth of systems biology goes hand-in-hand with huge technological advancements and enables a fairly rapid detection of all transcripts in studied biological samples. Even so, earlier technologies that were restricted to probing single genes or a subset of genes still have their place in research laboratories. The objective here is to highlight key approaches used in gene expression analysis in plant responses to environmental stresses, or, more generally, any other condition of interest. Northern blots, RNase protection assays, and qPCR are described for their targeted detection of one or a few transcripts at a once. Differential display and serial analysis of gene expression represent non-targeted methods to evaluate expression changes of a significant number of gene transcripts. Finally, microarrays and RNA-seq (next-generation sequencing) contribute to the ultimate goal of identifying and quantifying all transcripts in a cell under conditions or stages of study. Recent examples of applications as well as principles, advantages, and drawbacks of each method are contrasted. We also suggest replacing the term "Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)" with another less confusing synonym such as "RNA-seq", "high throughput sequencing", or "massively parallel sequencing" to avoid confusion with any future sequencing technologies.

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Genetic approaches to study plant responses to environmental stresses

10.31226/osf.io/689my ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Khaled Moustafa

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Next Generation Sequencing ◽

Systems Biology ◽

Massively Parallel Sequencing ◽

Environmental Stresses ◽

Plant Responses ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Next Generation ◽

Rnase Protection ◽

Generation Sequencing

The assessment of gene expression levels is an important step toward elucidating gene functions temporally and spatially. Decades ago, typical studies were focusing on a few genes individually, whereas now researchers are able to examine whole genomes at once. The upgrade of throughput levels aided the introduction of systems biology approaches whereby cell functional networks can be scrutinized in their entireties to unravel potential functional interacting components. The birth of systems biology goes hand-in-hand with huge technological advancements and enables a fairly rapid detection of all transcripts in studied biological samples. Even so, earlier technologies that were restricted to probing single genes or a subset of genes still have their place in research laboratories. The objective here is to highlight key approaches used in gene expression analysis in plant responses to environmental stresses, or, more generally, any other condition of interest. Northern blots, RNase protection assays, and qPCR are described for their targeted detection of one or a few transcripts at a once. Differential display and serial analysis of gene expression represent non-targeted methods to evaluate expression changes of a significant number of gene transcripts. Finally, microarrays and RNA-seq (next-generation sequencing) contribute to the ultimate goal of identifying and quantifying all transcripts in a cell under conditions or stages of study. Recent examples of applications as well as principles, advantages, and drawbacks of each method are contrasted. We also suggest replacing the term "Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)" with another less confusing synonym such as "RNA-seq", "high throughput sequencing", or "massively parallel sequencing" to avoid confusion with any future sequencing technologies.

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Function of Chloroplasts in Plant Stress Responses

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms222413464 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (24) ◽

pp. 13464

Author(s):

Yun Song ◽

Li Feng ◽

Mohammed Abdul Muhsen Alyafei ◽

Abdul Jaleel ◽

Maozhi Ren

Keyword(s):

Stress Responses ◽

Plant Stress ◽

Environmental Stresses ◽

Stress Conditions ◽

Oxygenic Photosynthesis ◽

Central Position ◽

Plant Responses ◽

Primary Metabolism ◽

Diverse Range ◽

Biotic Stresses

The chloroplast has a central position in oxygenic photosynthesis and primary metabolism. In addition to these functions, the chloroplast has recently emerged as a pivotal regulator of plant responses to abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Chloroplasts have their own independent genomes and gene-expression machinery and synthesize phytohormones and a diverse range of secondary metabolites, a significant portion of which contribute the plant response to adverse conditions. Furthermore, chloroplasts communicate with the nucleus through retrograde signaling, for instance, reactive oxygen signaling. All of the above facilitate the chloroplast’s exquisite flexibility in responding to environmental stresses. In this review, we summarize recent findings on the involvement of chloroplasts in plant regulatory responses to various abiotic and biotic stresses including heat, chilling, salinity, drought, high light environmental stress conditions, and pathogen invasions. This review will enrich the better understanding of interactions between chloroplast and environmental stresses, and will lay the foundation for genetically enhancing plant-stress acclimatization.

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