About Book

Plants have to deal with various and complex types of interactions involving numerous environmental factors. In the course of evolution, they have evolved specific mechanisms allowing them to adapt and survive stressful events. Plant stress can be divided into two primary categories namely abiotic stress and biotic stress. Exposure of plants to biotic and abiotic stress induces a disruption in plant metabolism implying physiological costs, and thus leading to a reduction in fitness and ultimately in productivity. A plant stress usually reflects some sudden changes in environmental condition. However, in stress tolerant plant species, exposure to a particular stress leads to acclimation to that specific stress in a time-dependent manner. This book provides comprehensive insights into the field of plant biology. It talks in detail about stress responses in plants, defence mechanisms, abiotic stress, stress adaptation, metabolic responses, brassinosteroids and functional genomics. It outlines the processes and applications of the subject in detail. The topic covered in the extensive book deal with the core subjects of biotic and abiotic stress in plants. Coherent flow of topics, student-friendly language and extensive use of examples make this book an invaluable source of knowledge. For all those who are interested in this subject, the book can prove to be an essential guide. It attempts to assist those with a goal of dealing into the field of biotic and abiotic stress.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Advances in Plant Tolerance to Biotic Stresses..................................1

Abstract ..................................................................................................1

1. Introduction............................................................................................2

2. Plant defence mechanisms in response to pathogens...................4

3. Innate immunity....................................................................................5

4. Phytohormones in plant defence response to pathogens and

insects....................................................................................................19

5. RNAi-mediated plant defence..........................................................25

6. Modern approaches for improving biotic stress tolerance in

plants.....................................................................................................27

7. Conclusion and perspective..............................................................31

Acknowledgements.............................................................................32

Chapter 2 Functional Genomics of Biotic and Abiotic Stresses in Phaseolus vulgaris........................................................................................................55

Abstract ................................................................................................55

1. Introduction..........................................................................................56

2. Genetic resources................................................................................57

3. Identification of genes involved with anthracnose resistance...59

4. Identification of genes involved with drought tolerance...........64

5. Perspectives on the functional genomics of common bean.......77

Acknowledgements.............................................................................79

Chapter 3 Abiotic Stress Alleviation with Brassinosteroids in Plant Roots....92

Abstract.................................................................................................92

1. Introduction..........................................................................................92

2. Water stress..........................................................................................95

3. Salt stress..............................................................................................96

4. Temperature stress..............................................................................96

5. Heavy metal stresses..........................................................................98

6. Conclusion..........................................................................................101

Acknowledgements...........................................................................102

Chapter 4 Abiotic Stress in Plants and Metabolic Responses........................117

1. Introduction........................................................................................117

2. Abiotic stresses and the impact on agriculture..........................118

3. Plant responses to abiotic stress....................................................119

4. Metabolic adjustments during stressing conditions: Osmolyte

accumulation......................................................................................120

5. Plant metabolomics and applications............................................122

6. Plant metabolomics and drought stress.......................................125

7. Plant metabolomics and salinity stress.........................................127

8. Plant metabolomics and oxidative stress.....................................130

9. Perspectives........................................................................................132

10. Conclusions........................................................................................134

Chapter 5 Abiotic Stress Adaptation: Protein Folding Stability and

Dynamics...................................................................................................145

1. Introduction........................................................................................145

2. Protein folding and abiotic stress..................................................147

3. Stability versus flexibility - How to protect protein

function?..............................................................................................148

4. New insights into molecular dynamics of protein folding and

unfolding from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)

spectroscopy.......................................................................................155

5. Biotechnology approaches for improved abiotic stress tolerance

in plants..............................................................................................161

6. Conclusion..........................................................................................162

Acknowledgements...........................................................................164

Chapter 6 Abiotic Stress in Plants ........................................................................171

1. Introduction........................................................................................171

2. Signal transduction ..........................................................................172

3. Conclusion .........................................................................................201

Chapter 7 Adaptation of Local Grapevine Germplasm: Exploitation of Natural

Defence Mechanisms to Biotic Stresses............................................222

1. Introduction........................................................................................222

2. Plant defence mechanisms..............................................................224

3. Conclusion..........................................................................................239

Citation......................................................................................................255

Index...........................................................................................................257

About Author

Carlo Sobol received his M.Sc. in Plant Ecology from Public State University, Aalborg. He is a Research Professor at University College, Vaasa. He has been researching the effects of natural disasters such as flood, wildfires, etc. on plants. Sobol holds prominent memberships of renowned agricultural associations and has been an active participant at international conferences and forums. He has authored and edited more than 60 articles, journal papers and book chapters in the field of biotic and abiotic stress in plants. He has organized many international conferences on botany.