Abiotic Stress in Crop Species: Improving Tolerance by Applying Plant Metabolites
Reductions in crop yields brought about by abiotic stress are expected to increase as climate change, and other factors, generate harsher environmental conditions in regions traditionally used for cultivation. Although breeding and genetically modified and edited organisms have generated many variet...
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doaj-83486d007a104dadb9c95d55a8ebc1d52021-01-21T00:00:04ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-01-011018618610.3390/plants10020186Abiotic Stress in Crop Species: Improving Tolerance by Applying Plant MetabolitesFrancisca Godoy0Karina Olivos-Hernández1Claudia Stange2Michael Handford3Centro de Biología Molecular Vegetal, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Ñuñoa, Santiago 7800024, ChileCentro de Biología Molecular Vegetal, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Ñuñoa, Santiago 7800024, ChileCentro de Biología Molecular Vegetal, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Ñuñoa, Santiago 7800024, ChileCentro de Biología Molecular Vegetal, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Ñuñoa, Santiago 7800024, ChileReductions in crop yields brought about by abiotic stress are expected to increase as climate change, and other factors, generate harsher environmental conditions in regions traditionally used for cultivation. Although breeding and genetically modified and edited organisms have generated many varieties with greater abiotic stress tolerance, their practical use depends on lengthy processes, such as biological cycles and legal aspects. On the other hand, a non-genetic approach to improve crop yield in stress conditions involves the exogenous application of natural compounds, including plant metabolites. In this review, we examine the recent literature related to the application of different natural primary (proline, <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-tryptophan, glutathione, and citric acid) and secondary (polyols, ascorbic acid, lipoic acid, glycine betaine, α-tocopherol, and melatonin) plant metabolites in improving tolerance to abiotic stress. We focus on drought, saline, heavy metal, and temperature as environmental parameters that are forecast to become more extreme or frequent as the climate continues to alter. The benefits of such applications are often evaluated by measuring their effects on metabolic, biochemical, and morphological parameters in a variety of crop plants, which usually result in improved yields when applied in greenhouse conditions or in the field. As this strategy has proven to be an effective way to raise plant tolerance to abiotic stress, we also discuss the prospect of its widespread implementation in the short term.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/186drought stressheavy metal stressprimary metabolitesalt stresssecondary metabolites |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Francisca Godoy Karina Olivos-Hernández Claudia Stange Michael Handford |
spellingShingle |
Francisca Godoy Karina Olivos-Hernández Claudia Stange Michael Handford Abiotic Stress in Crop Species: Improving Tolerance by Applying Plant Metabolites Plants drought stress heavy metal stress primary metabolite salt stress secondary metabolites |
author_facet |
Francisca Godoy Karina Olivos-Hernández Claudia Stange Michael Handford |
author_sort |
Francisca Godoy |
title |
Abiotic Stress in Crop Species: Improving Tolerance by Applying Plant Metabolites |
title_short |
Abiotic Stress in Crop Species: Improving Tolerance by Applying Plant Metabolites |
title_full |
Abiotic Stress in Crop Species: Improving Tolerance by Applying Plant Metabolites |
title_fullStr |
Abiotic Stress in Crop Species: Improving Tolerance by Applying Plant Metabolites |
title_full_unstemmed |
Abiotic Stress in Crop Species: Improving Tolerance by Applying Plant Metabolites |
title_sort |
abiotic stress in crop species: improving tolerance by applying plant metabolites |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Plants |
issn |
2223-7747 |
publishDate |
2021-01-01 |
description |
Reductions in crop yields brought about by abiotic stress are expected to increase as climate change, and other factors, generate harsher environmental conditions in regions traditionally used for cultivation. Although breeding and genetically modified and edited organisms have generated many varieties with greater abiotic stress tolerance, their practical use depends on lengthy processes, such as biological cycles and legal aspects. On the other hand, a non-genetic approach to improve crop yield in stress conditions involves the exogenous application of natural compounds, including plant metabolites. In this review, we examine the recent literature related to the application of different natural primary (proline, <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-tryptophan, glutathione, and citric acid) and secondary (polyols, ascorbic acid, lipoic acid, glycine betaine, α-tocopherol, and melatonin) plant metabolites in improving tolerance to abiotic stress. We focus on drought, saline, heavy metal, and temperature as environmental parameters that are forecast to become more extreme or frequent as the climate continues to alter. The benefits of such applications are often evaluated by measuring their effects on metabolic, biochemical, and morphological parameters in a variety of crop plants, which usually result in improved yields when applied in greenhouse conditions or in the field. As this strategy has proven to be an effective way to raise plant tolerance to abiotic stress, we also discuss the prospect of its widespread implementation in the short term. |
topic |
drought stress heavy metal stress primary metabolite salt stress secondary metabolites |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/186 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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