Comprehensive strategy to achieve drought tolerance in plants

Abstract

In this scenario of global climate change, increasing vulnerability of plants to drought stress poses a serious threat worldwide to sustain growth, development and productivity of major crop plants. Taking it into consideration, developing plant species with greater stress tolerance capability arises to be the most sustainable solution towards enhancing crop productivity. However, to confer drought tolerance, plants evolve to undergo various biochemical and molecular changes. In line with this, many plants under drought exposure upregulate a variety of genes involved in the synthesis of several stress-induced transcription factors and protein kinases, which in turn regulate the biosynthesis and accumulation of several protective proteins and osmoprotectants, induce the activation of antioxidant defence system, help in improving photosynthesis and maintaining cellular water status by acting together with hormonal cross-talk. The current mini-review intends to provide a deep and concise understanding on stress-induced responses of plants and the transgenic approaches already been adopted to improve plant tolerance against drought.