Vij Shubha, Tyagi Akhilesh K
Interdisciplinary Centre for Plant Genomics and Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, India.
Plant Biotechnol J. 2007 May;5(3):361-80. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2007.00239.x.
Plants are exposed to different abiotic stresses, such as water deficit, high temperature, salinity, cold, heavy metals and mechanical wounding, under field conditions. It is estimated that such stress conditions can potentially reduce the yield of crop plants by more than 50%. Investigations of the physiological, biochemical and molecular aspects of stress tolerance have been conducted to unravel the intrinsic mechanisms developed during evolution to mitigate against stress by plants. Before the advent of the genomics era, researchers primarily used a gene-by-gene approach to decipher the function of the genes involved in the abiotic stress response. However, abiotic stress tolerance is a complex trait and, although large numbers of genes have been identified to be involved in the abiotic stress response, there remain large gaps in our understanding of the trait. The availability of the genome sequences of certain important plant species has enabled the use of strategies, such as genome-wide expression profiling, to identify the genes associated with the stress response, followed by the verification of gene function by the analysis of mutants and transgenics. Certain components of both abscisic acid-dependent and -independent cascades involved in the stress response have already been identified. Information originating from the genome-wide analysis of abiotic stress tolerance will help to provide an insight into the stress-responsive network(s), and may allow the modification of this network to reduce the loss caused by stress and to increase agricultural productivity.
在田间条件下，植物会受到不同的非生物胁迫，如水分亏缺、高温、盐度、低温、重金属和机械损伤。据估计，这些胁迫条件可能使农作物产量降低50%以上。为了揭示植物在进化过程中形成的减轻胁迫的内在机制，人们对胁迫耐受性的生理、生化和分子方面进行了研究。在基因组学时代到来之前，研究人员主要采用逐个基因的方法来解读参与非生物胁迫反应的基因的功能。然而，非生物胁迫耐受性是一个复杂的性状，尽管已经鉴定出大量参与非生物胁迫反应的基因，但我们对该性状的理解仍存在很大差距。某些重要植物物种基因组序列的可得性使得人们能够采用全基因组表达谱分析等策略来鉴定与胁迫反应相关的基因，随后通过分析突变体和转基因来验证基因功能。已经鉴定出了参与胁迫反应的脱落酸依赖性和非依赖性级联反应的某些组分。来自非生物胁迫耐受性全基因组分析的信息将有助于深入了解胁迫响应网络，并可能允许对该网络进行修饰，以减少胁迫造成的损失并提高农业生产力。
