Abstract
Cultivated beets (sugar beets, fodder beets, leaf beets, and garden beets) belonging to the species Beta vulgaris L. are important sources for many products such as sugar, bioethanol, animal feed, human nutrition, pulp residue, pectin extract, and molasses. Beta maritima L. (sea beet or wild beet) is a halophytic wild ancestor of all cultivated beets. With a requirement of less water and having shorter growth period than sugarcane, cultivated beets are preferentially spreading from temperate regions to subtropical countries. The beet cultivars display tolerance to several abiotic stresses such as salt, drought, cold, heat, and heavy metals. However, many environmental factors adversely influence growth, yield, and quality of beets. Hence, selection of stress-tolerant beet varieties and knowledge on the response mechanisms of beet cultivars to different abiotic stress factors are most required. The present review discusses morpho-physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of cultivated beets (B. vulgaris L.) to different abiotic stresses including alkaline, cold, heat, heavy metals, and UV radiation. Additionally, we describe the beet genes reported for their involvement in response to these stress conditions.
Highlights
Important cultivated beets such as fodder beets, sugar beets, garden beets, and leaf beets (e.g., Swiss chard) belong to the sub-species Beta vulgaris L. ssp. vulgaris [1,2]
As compared to other beet genotypes, the GT2 showed the maximum expression levels of GOLS and RS genes and raffinose levels in taproots, indicating the highest freezing tolerance in GT2 [40]. These findings suggest that the survival of taproot tissue under cold stress might depend on the accumulation of raffinose
As an economically important crop plant, cultivated beets have multifarious industrial applications ranging from food and nutrition to sugar and bioethanol production
Summary
Important cultivated beets such as fodder beets, sugar beets, garden beets (e.g., red beet), and leaf beets (e.g., Swiss chard) belong to the sub-species Beta vulgaris L. ssp. vulgaris [1,2]. Important cultivated beets such as fodder beets, sugar beets, garden beets (e.g., red beet), and leaf beets (e.g., Swiss chard) belong to the sub-species Beta vulgaris L. ssp. We summarize the morpho-physiological, biochemical, and molecular alterations in cultivated beets (B. vulgaris L.) under alkaline, cold, heat, heavy metal, and UV stresses. 2. Responses of Cultivated Beets (B. vulgaris L.) to Different Abiotic Stresses Including Alkaline, Temperature, Heavy Metal, and UV. A comprehensive review describing the responses of cultivated beets to several abiotic stress factors including cold, heat, alkaline, heavy metal, and UV is lacking. This review focuses on the responses of cultivated beets (B. vulgaris L.) to alkaline, cold, heat, heavy metal, and UV stresses at morpho-physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. Galactinol synthase 2 and 3 (GOLS2 and GOLS3) Raffinose synthase 2 and 5 (RS2 and RS5)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
