A holistic and sustainable approach linked to drought tolerance of Mediterranean crops
The rapid increase in average temperatures and the progressive reduction in rainfalls caused by climate change is reducing crop yields worldwide, particularly in regions with hot and semi-arid climates such as the Mediterranean area. In natural conditions, plants respond to environmental drought str...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1167376/full |
| _version_ | 1827925605788680192 |
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| author | Maurizio Trovato Faiçal Brini Khalil Mseddi Sophia Rhizopoulou Matthew Alan Jones |
| author_facet | Maurizio Trovato Faiçal Brini Khalil Mseddi Sophia Rhizopoulou Matthew Alan Jones |
| author_sort | Maurizio Trovato |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The rapid increase in average temperatures and the progressive reduction in rainfalls caused by climate change is reducing crop yields worldwide, particularly in regions with hot and semi-arid climates such as the Mediterranean area. In natural conditions, plants respond to environmental drought stress with diverse morphological, physiological, and biochemical adaptations in an attempt to escape, avoid, or tolerate drought stress. Among these adaptations to stress, the accumulation of abscisic acid (ABA) is of pivotal importance. Many biotechnological approaches to improve stress tolerance by increasing the exogenous or endogenous content of ABA have proved to be effective. In most cases the resultant drought tolerance is associated with low productivity incompatible with the requirements of modern agriculture. The on-going climate crisis has provoked the search for strategies to increase crop yield under warmer conditions. Several biotechnological strategies, such as the genetic improvement of crops or the generation of transgenic plants for genes involved in drought tolerance, have been attempted with unsatisfactory results suggesting the need for new approaches. Among these, the genetic modification of transcription factors or regulators of signaling cascades provide a promising alternative. To reconcile drought tolerance with crop yield, we propose mutagenesis of genes controlling key signaling components downstream of ABA accumulation in local landraces to modulate responses. We also discuss the advantages of tackling this challenge with a holistic approach involving different knowledge and perspectives, and the problem of distributing the selected lines at subsidized prices to guarantee their use by small family farms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:27:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-78c888b92d0746cf97c0b350de90d3a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:27:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-78c888b92d0746cf97c0b350de90d3a72023-06-15T05:11:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2023-06-011410.3389/fpls.2023.11673761167376A holistic and sustainable approach linked to drought tolerance of Mediterranean cropsMaurizio Trovato0Faiçal Brini1Khalil Mseddi2Sophia Rhizopoulou3Matthew Alan Jones4Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyBiotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS), Sfax, TunisiaFaculty of Sciences of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, TunisiaDepartment of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GreeceSchool of Molecular Biosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United KingdomThe rapid increase in average temperatures and the progressive reduction in rainfalls caused by climate change is reducing crop yields worldwide, particularly in regions with hot and semi-arid climates such as the Mediterranean area. In natural conditions, plants respond to environmental drought stress with diverse morphological, physiological, and biochemical adaptations in an attempt to escape, avoid, or tolerate drought stress. Among these adaptations to stress, the accumulation of abscisic acid (ABA) is of pivotal importance. Many biotechnological approaches to improve stress tolerance by increasing the exogenous or endogenous content of ABA have proved to be effective. In most cases the resultant drought tolerance is associated with low productivity incompatible with the requirements of modern agriculture. The on-going climate crisis has provoked the search for strategies to increase crop yield under warmer conditions. Several biotechnological strategies, such as the genetic improvement of crops or the generation of transgenic plants for genes involved in drought tolerance, have been attempted with unsatisfactory results suggesting the need for new approaches. Among these, the genetic modification of transcription factors or regulators of signaling cascades provide a promising alternative. To reconcile drought tolerance with crop yield, we propose mutagenesis of genes controlling key signaling components downstream of ABA accumulation in local landraces to modulate responses. We also discuss the advantages of tackling this challenge with a holistic approach involving different knowledge and perspectives, and the problem of distributing the selected lines at subsidized prices to guarantee their use by small family farms.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1167376/fullglobal warmingdrought tolerancecrop yieldABAgenome editingwild plants |
| spellingShingle | Maurizio Trovato Faiçal Brini Khalil Mseddi Sophia Rhizopoulou Matthew Alan Jones A holistic and sustainable approach linked to drought tolerance of Mediterranean crops Frontiers in Plant Science global warming drought tolerance crop yield ABA genome editing wild plants |
| title | A holistic and sustainable approach linked to drought tolerance of Mediterranean crops |
| title_full | A holistic and sustainable approach linked to drought tolerance of Mediterranean crops |
| title_fullStr | A holistic and sustainable approach linked to drought tolerance of Mediterranean crops |
| title_full_unstemmed | A holistic and sustainable approach linked to drought tolerance of Mediterranean crops |
| title_short | A holistic and sustainable approach linked to drought tolerance of Mediterranean crops |
| title_sort | holistic and sustainable approach linked to drought tolerance of mediterranean crops |
| topic | global warming drought tolerance crop yield ABA genome editing wild plants |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1167376/full |
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