With the erratic changes in climate, crop plants are facing many forms of biotic stresses. When plants are under stress, among several gene families, regulatory genes play a vital role in signal transduction in modulating the expression of genes underpinning several defense pathways and targeting regulatory proteins (viz, transcription factors (TFs)) can be the alternative. Transcription factors directly regulate the downstream R genes and are excellent candidates for disease resistance breeding. Till date, numerous transcription factors have been identified and characterized structurally and functionally. Of them, TF families such as WRKY, NAC, Whirly, Apetala2 (AP2), ethylene responsive elements (ERF) etc. are found to be associated with transcriptional reprogramming of plant defense response. These TFs are responsive to the pathogen’s PAMPs/DAMPs - host’s PRR protein interactions and specifically binds to the cis-elements of defense genes and regulate their expression. With this background, realizing the importance of TFs in resistance breeding, this book discusses the recent research and developments in this field for various crops.

Transcription Factors for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants highlights advances in the understanding of the regulatory network that impacts plant health and production, providing important insights for improving plant resistance. Plant production worldwide is suffering serious losses due to widespread abiotic stresses increasing as a result of global climate change. Frequently more than one abiotic stress can occur at once, for example extreme temperature and osmotic stress, which increases the complexity of these environmental stresses. Modern genetic engineering technologies are one of the promising tools for development of plants with efficient yields and resilience to abiotic stresses. Hence deciphering the molecular mechanisms and identifying the abiotic stress associated genes that control plant response to abiotic stresses is a vital requirement in developing plants with increased abiotic stress resilience. Addressing the various complexities of transcriptional regulation, this book includes chapters on cross talk and central regulation, regulatory networks, the role of DOF, WRKY and NAC transcription factors, zinc finger proteins, CRISPR/CAS9-based genome editing, C-Repeat (CRT) binding factors (CBFs)/Dehydration responsive element binding factors (DREBs) and factors impacting salt, cold and phosphorous stress levels, as well as transcriptional modulation of genes involved in nanomaterial-plant interactions. Transcription Factors for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants provides a useful reference by unravelling the transcriptional regulatory networks in plants. Researchers and advanced students will find this book a valuable reference for understanding this vital area. Discusses abiotic stress tolerance and adaptive mechanisms based on the findings generated by unlocking the transcriptional regulatory network in plants Presents various kinds of regulatory gene networks identified for drought, salinity, cold and heat stress in plants Highlights urgent climate change issues in plants and their mitigation using modern biotechnological tools including genome editing.

Priming-Mediated Stress and Cross-Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants provides the latest, in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with the development of stress and cross-stress tolerance in plants. Plants growing under field conditions are constantly exposed, either sequentially or simultaneously, to many abiotic or biotic stress factors. As a result, many plants have developed unique strategies to respond to ever-changing environmental conditions, enabling them to monitor their surroundings and adjust their metabolic systems to maintain homeostasis. Recently, priming mediated stress and cross-stress tolerance (i.e., greater tolerance to a second, stronger stress after exposure to a different, milder primary stress) have attracted considerable interest within the scientific community as potential means of stress management and for producing stress-resistant crops to aid global food security. Priming-Mediated Stress and Cross-Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants comprehensively reviews the physiological, biochemical, and molecular basis of cross-tolerance phenomena, allowing researchers to develop strategies to enhance crop productivity under stressful conditions and to utilize natural resources more efficiently. The book is a valuable asset for plant and agricultural scientists in corporate or government environments, as well as educators and advanced students looking to promote future research into plant stress tolerance. Provides comprehensive information for developing multiple stress-tolerant crop varieties Includes in-depth physiological, biochemical, and molecular information associated with cross-tolerance Includes contribution from world-leading cross-tolerance research group Presents color images and diagrams for effective communication of key concepts

Over the past decade, our understanding of plant adaptation to environmental stress has grown considerably. This book focuses on stress caused by the inanimate components of the environment associated with climatic, edaphic and physiographic factors that substantially limit plant growth and survival. Categorically these are abiotic stresses, which include drought, salinity, non-optimal temperatures and poor soil nutrition. Another stress, herbicides, is covered in this book to highlight how plants are impacted by abiotic stress originating from anthropogenic sources. The book also addresses the high degree to which plant responses to quite diverse forms of environmental stress are interconnected, describing the ways in which the plant utilizes and integrates many common signals and subsequent pathways to cope with less favorable conditions. The book is directed at researchers and professionals in plant physiology, cell biology and molecular biology, in both the academic and industrial sectors.

Plants, unlike animals, are sessile. This demands that adverse changes in their environment are quickly recognized, distinguished and responded to with suitable reactions. Drought, heat, cold and salinity are among the major abiotic stresses that adversely affect plant growth and productivity. In general, abiotic stress often causes a series of morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes that unfavorably affect plant growth, development and productivity. Drought, salinity, extreme temperatures (cold and heat) and oxidative stress are often interrelated; these conditions singularly or in combination induce cellular damage. To cope with abiotic stresses, of paramount significance is to understand plant responses to abiotic stresses that disturb the homeostatic equilibrium at cellular and molecular level in order to identify a common mechanism for multiple stress tolerance. This multi authored edited compilation attempts to put forth an all-inclusive biochemical and molecular picture in a systems approach wherein mechanism and adaptation aspects of abiotic stress are dealt with. The chief objective of the book hence is to deliver state of the art information for comprehending the effects of abiotic stress in plants at the cellular level.

Completely updated from the successful first edition, this book provides a timely update on the recent progress in our knowledge of all aspects of plant perception, signalling and adaptation to a variety of environmental stresses. It covers in detail areas such as drought, salinity, waterlogging, oxidative stress, pathogens, and extremes of temperature and pH. This second edition presents detailed and up-to-date research on plant responses to a wide range of stresses Includes new full-colour figures to help illustrate the principles outlined in the text Is written in a clear and accessible format, with descriptive abstracts for each chapter. Written by an international team of experts, this book provides researchers with a better understanding of the major physiological and molecular mechanisms facilitating plant tolerance to adverse environmental factors. This new edition of Plant Stress Physiology is an essential resource for researchers and students of ecology, plant biology, agriculture, agronomy and plant breeding.

Developing Climate Resilient Crops; A window for improving global food security and safety project is timely, as the world is gradually waking up to the fact that a global food crisis of enormous proportions is brewing. Climate change is creating immense problems for the agricultural productivity worldwide, resulting in higher food prices. This book elucidates the causative aspects of climate modification related to agriculture, soil and plants, and discusses the relevant resulting mitigation process and also how new tools and resources can be used to develop climate resilient crops . Salient Features: Addresses the limits of the anthropogenic global warming theory advocated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Presents the main characters (drought tolerance, heat tolerance, water use efficiency, disease resistance, nitrogen use efficiency, nitrogen fixation, and carbon sequestration) necessary for climate resilient agriculture. Delivers both theoretical and practical aspects, and serves as base line information for future research. Provides valuable resource for those students engaged in the field of environmental sciences, soil sciences, agricultural microbiology, plant pathology, and agronomy. Highlights factors that are threatening future food production