Biotechnology of water and salinity stress tolerance

Drought and salinity are among the environmental factors that constrain agricultural productivity most dramatically. Classical breeding programs aiming to improve stress tolerance have been hampered by the multigenic nature of the trait and the seemingly scarce natural genetic variability in crop pl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in biotechnology 2010-04, Vol.21 (2), p.185-196
Main Author: Pardo, Jose M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Genetic Enhancement - methods
Internal Medicine
Plant Diseases - genetics
Plant Diseases - prevention & control
Plants, Genetically Modified - physiology
Salt-Tolerant Plants - genetics
Stress, Physiological - genetics
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Summary:Drought and salinity are among the environmental factors that constrain agricultural productivity most dramatically. Classical breeding programs aiming to improve stress tolerance have been hampered by the multigenic nature of the trait and the seemingly scarce natural genetic variability in crop plants. Novel genetic determinants governing the function of stomata and improving the performance of plants under water shortage have been identified and show promise of application in crops. Moreover, receptors of the stress hormone abscisic acid have been characterized and their interplay with key regulatory components is being understood. A critical factor of salinity tolerance in plants is the ability to exclude Na+ from the shoot, and the modification of specific Na+ transport processes has yielded enhanced salinity tolerance.
ISSN:0958-1669
1879-0429
DOI:10.1016/j.copbio.2010.02.005