Abstract: The ability to tolerate environmental stress is a key adaptation for insects across the world. As ectotherms, insects are unable to regulate internal temperature, and their small body size makes them particularly susceptible to extremes in temperature and water availability. Insects rely on numerous physiological adaptations to cope with environmental stress, and recent advances in molecular biology and "omics" technologies have made it possible to study these mechanisms in detail. In this dissertation, I explore molecular mechanisms of stress tolerance in both temperate and polar insects.

While the subject of environmental stress in animals is broad, the available information is fragmentary and lacks an up-to-date overview and analysis. Environmental Stress and Cellular Response in Arthropods fills these knowledge gaps. Written by three experts from the same institution, the chapters have a consistency not often found in multi-authored or contributed books. The authors describe environmental stress in arthropods, specifically Drosophila and analyze the process in all its aspects, from biochemical mechanisms to effects on the whole organism. Incorporating new information that has become available in recent years, the authors explore hypotheses about the integrated response these systems often have. They explore topics ranging from disturbance of homeostasis, changes in metabolic processes, damage of cellular structures to acquired tolerance, effects on aging processes, and survival and cell death. By analyzing all these aspects in detail at the molecular, biochemical, and physiological level of the cell, the authors give you a thorough look at the relationship between an organism and its environment at the cellular level.

Environmental stresses, such as high and low temperature, salinity, and drought, represent limiting factors to agricultural productivity worldwide. Their impact is not only on crops that are presently being cultivated, but they are also significant barriers to the introduction of crop plants into noncultivated areas. The book describes the cellular, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms in plants that regulate tolerance to stresses. Also discussed are prospects of engineering stress-tolerant plants through the modification of germplasm.

Plant growth and productivity are limited in many areas of the world by a wide variety of environmental stresses. This book discusses progress made toward the major goal of uncovering the plant resistance mechanisms to biotic and abiotic stresses; the purpose being to utilise this knowledge in genetic modification of plants for achieving improved stress resistance. This volume achieves a new synthesis in considering the mechanisms of resistance at various levels of organisation -- from individual cells and tissues, through whole plants, to communities. Chapters are written by internationally acknowledged experts, who have a wealth of research and teaching experience. With comprehensive and up-to-date coverage, this book analyses many outstanding problems and poses important questions for future research.

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.

Algae, generally held as the principal primary producers of aquatic systems, inhabit all conceivable habitats. They have great ability to cope with a harsh environment, e.g. extremely high and low temperatures, suboptimal and supraoptimal light intensities, low availability of essential nutrients and other resources, and high concentrations of toxic chemicals, etc. A multitude of physiological, biochemical, and molecular strategies enable them to survive and grow in stressful habitats. This book presents a critical account of various mechanisms of stress tolerance in algae, many of which may occur in microbes and plants as well.

Leguminous crops have been found to contribute almost 27% of the world’s primary crop production. However, due to environmental fluctuations, legumes are often exposed to different environmental stresses, leading to problems with growth and development, and ultimately, decreased yield. This timely review explains the transcriptomics, proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, transgenomics, functional genomics and phenomics of a wide range of different leguminous crops under biotic and abiotic stresses, and their genetic and molecular responses. Amongst others the text describes the effect of nutrient deficiency, pesticides, salt, and temperature stress on legumes. Importantly, the book explores the physiobiochemical, molecular and omic approaches that are used to overcome biotic and abiotic constraints in legumes. It looks at the exogenous application of phytoprotectants; the role of nutrients in the alleviation of abiotic stress; and the microbial strategy for the improvement of legume production under hostile environments. Key features: demonstrates how to mitigate the negative effect of stress on leguminous crops, and how to improve the yield under stress the most up-to-date research in the field written by an international team of active researchers and practitioners across academia, industry and non-profit organisations. This volume is a valuable and much-needed resource for scientists, professionals and researchers working in plant science, breeding, food security, crop improvement and agriculture worldwide. In universities it will educate postgraduate and graduate students in plant science and agriculture; it will also benefit those in scientific institutions and in biotech and agribusiness companies, who deal with agronomy and environment.