Abstract
Drought stress adversely effects physiological and biochemical processes of plants, leading to a reduction in plant productivity. Plants try to protect themselves via activation of their internal defense system, but severe drought causes dysfunction of this defense system. The imbalance between generation and scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to oxidative stress. Melatonin, a multifunctional molecule, has the potential to protect plants from the adverse effects of drought stress by enhancing the ROS scavenging efficiency. It helps in protection of photosynthetic apparatus and reduction of drought induced oxidative stress. Melatonin regulates plant processes at a molecular level, which results in providing better resistance against drought stress. In this review, the authors have discussed various physiological and molecular aspects regulated by melatonin in plants under drought conditions, along with their underlying mechanisms.
Highlights
In the present era, water scarcity is one of the main environmental challenges for plants, which has negative impacts on their growth and development [1,2]
Stomatal closure during water deficit conditions is regulated by the enhanced endogenous levels of abscisic acid (ABA), which acts as a signaling molecule to modulate a cascade of various physiological and molecular processes
Melatonin provides resistance to plants growing under drought conditions by enhancing the scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS)
Summary
Water scarcity is one of the main environmental challenges for plants, which has negative impacts on their growth and development [1,2]. As plants are exposed to various biotic and abiotic factors, they possess an inbuilt system, known as antioxidant system, to regulate the biological processes under adverse environmental conditions. This antioxidant system is comprised of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, which work in a systematic manner to control the levels of ROS in plant cells [12]. Melatonin regulates the biology of plants by modulating various physiological, biochemical and molecular processes and enhances resistance in plants to withstand drought conditions [29,30]. The mechanisms behind melatonin modulated physiological and molecular aspects were discussed, including photosynthetic processes, regulation of oxidative stress and other important biological mechanisms in plants under drought conditions
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