Role of Brassinosteroids During Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants

Abstract

The demand for food crops is continuously increasing due to the growing human population. However, exposure of plants to different abiotic stresses that significantly reduce the annual crop yield is the major limiting factor to fulfilling rising food demand. Thus, developing suitable strategies to combat the effects of abiotic stresses in plants has been the prime agenda of plant biologists all over the world. The use of phytohormones is one of the most sought-after and eco-friendly methods for conferring abiotic stress adaptation in plants. Brassinosteroids (BRs) are the sixth class of phytohormones well known for their pivotal role in a plant’s life cycle. Lately, they have been recognized as potential chemical weapons against a range of abiotic stresses. They regulate a plethora of cellular processes in response to abiotic stress stimuli for optimizing the growth and stress endurance in plants. Their role in the regulation of abiotic stress adaptation has been primarily investigated through their exogenous use via different modes including seed priming, foliar treatment, and post-emergence treatment to roots. Moreover, researchers have also partly dissected the intricate molecular networks involved in the regulation of BR-mediated abiotic stress tolerance in plants. Thus, this chapter highlights the roles of BRs in the regulation of various stress adaptive responses in plants that will help in designing suitable strategies involving BRs for ameliorating the toxic effects of various abiotic factors in plants.