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Plant Stress Biology

Strategies and Trends

• © 2020
• Bhoopander Giri 0 ,
• Mahaveer Prasad Sharma 1

Swami Shraddhanand College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research, Indore, India

• Gathers most recent information on plant biology under biotic and abiotic stress
• Brings together current advances in the molecular analyses of plant response to abiotic and biotic stresses
• Compressively discusses the plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere for combating the impacts of physiological stress

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Table of contents (16 chapters)

Front matter, abiotic stress in plants: an overview.

• Pooja Baweja, Gaurav Kumar

Silicon: A Plant Nutritional “Non-Entity” for Mitigating Abiotic Stresses

• Sahil Mehta, Mansi Gogna, Baljinder Singh, Anupam Patra, Indrakant Kumar Singh, Archana Singh

Plant Morphological, Physiological Traits Associated with Adaptation Against Heat Stress in Wheat and Maize

• Rahul Gajghate, Dipanti Chourasiya, Harikrishna, Ram Kumar Sharma

Breeding and Molecular Approaches for Evolving Drought-Tolerant Soybeans

• Gyanesh Kumar Satpute, Milind B. Ratnaparkhe, Subhash Chandra, Viraj Gangadhar Kamble, Rucha Kavishwar, Ajay Kumar Singh et al.

Plant Roots and Mineral Nutrition: An Overview of Molecular Basis of Uptake and Regulation, and Strategies to Improve Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE)

• Ekta Bhardwaj, Richa Shukla, Sandip Das

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria: Mechanisms and Alleviation of Cold Stress in Plants

• Pankaj Kumar Mishra, Shekhar Chand Bisht, B. M. Pandey, V. S. Meena, M. Parihar, D. Mahanta et al.

Microbe-Mediated Mitigation of Abiotic Stress in Plants

• Maddur Puttaswamy Raghavendra

Orchestration of MicroRNAs and Transcription Factors in the Regulation of Plant Abiotic Stress Response

• Sombir Rao, Sonia Balyan, Sarita Jha, Chandni Bansal, Jaishri Rubina Das, Apoorva Gupta et al.

Phytohormones: A Promising Alternative in Boosting Salinity Stress Tolerance in Plants

• Ayushi Mahajan, Meenakshi Raina, Sameena Ejaz Tanwir, Neha Katru, Akanksha Sharma, Deepak Kumar

Microbe-Mediated Biotic Stress Signaling and Resistance Mechanisms in Plants

• Lebin Thomas, Ishwar Singh

Role of WRKY Transcription Factor Superfamily in Plant Disease Management

• Laxman Singh Rajput, Sumit Kumar Aggarwal, Sahil Mehta, Sanjeev Kumar, Vennampally Nataraj, M. Shivakumar et al.

Unraveling the Molecular Mechanism of Magnaporthe oryzae Induced Signaling Cascade in Rice

• Nisha Khatri, Qingfeng Meng, Sun Tae Kim, Ravi Gupta

The Role of Endophytic Insect-Pathogenic Fungi in Biotic Stress Management

• Imtiaz Ahmad, María del Mar Jiménez-Gasco, Mary E. Barbercheck

Biological Overview and Adaptability Strategies of Tamarix Plants, T. articulata and T. gallica to Abiotic Stress

• Karima Bencherif, Fares Trodi, Mohamed Hamidi, Yolande Dalpè, Anissa Lounès Hadj-Sahraoui

Plant Synthetic Biology: A Paradigm Shift Targeting Stress Mitigation, Reduction of Ecological Footprints and Sustainable Transformation in Agriculture

• Priyanka Singla

Role of Calcium Signalling During Plant–Herbivore Interaction

• Amit Kumar, Ruby Panwar, Archana Singh, Indrakant Kumar Singh
• Abiotic stress
• biotic stress
• stress tolerance
• Plant-microbe interaction
• Sustainable agriculture

About this book

Plants growing in the natural environment battle with a variety of biotic (pathogens infection) and abiotic (salinity, drought, heat and cold stresses etc.) stresses. These physiological stresses drastically affect plant growth and productivity under field conditions. These challenges are likely to grow as a consequences of global climate change and pose a threat to the food security. Therefore, acquaintance with underlying signalling pathways, physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms in plants and the role of beneficial soil microorganisms in plant’s stress tolerance are pivotal for sustainable crop production. This volume written by the experts in the stress physiology and covers latest research on plant’s tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. It elaborates on the potential of plant-microbe interactions to avoid the damage caused by these stresses. With comprehensive information on theoretical, technical and experimental aspects of plant stress biology, this extensive volume is a valuable resource for researchers, academician and students in the broad field of plant stress biology, physiology, microbiology, environmental and agricultural science.

Editors and Affiliations

Bhoopander Giri

Mahaveer Prasad Sharma

About the editors

Dr. Bhoopander Giri: Received his Ph.D in Mycorrhizal Research from the Department of Botany, University of Delhi in 2001. He has worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, USA and is currently working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Botany, Swami Shraddhanand College, University of Delhi, Delhi. He is a recipient of CSIR Research Associateship (2003), DST Young Scientist Fellowship (2005) and Raman Post-Doctoral Fellowship. Dr Giri has served as a General Secretary for International Symbiosis Society (ISS), USA. He is a life-member/member of many prestigious academic societies. Besides, he serves as a reviewer for several international and national journals, including Experimental and Environmental Botany, Planta, Applied Soil Ecology, Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, Agroforestry System, Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, Scientia Horticulture, Acta Physiologia Plantarum, Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, Journal of Experimental Botany, Plant Science Today, Institute for Life Long Learning, University of Delhi (e-content) and UGC-CEC pre-view subject expert. Dr. Giri has published more than 40 papers in the national and international peer-reviewed journals and books. He has presented research papers in several national and international conferences (Denmark, Switzerland, Canada, U.K and USA etc.) and also served as session chair and organizing secretary for a couple of conferences. Dr. Giri has edited a few books namely, Root Biology, Microorganisms in Saline Environments: Strategies and Functions, Biofertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, and Soil Health published by Springer International Publishing AG-A Part of Nature.

Dr. Mahaveer P Sharma is currently working in Agricultural Research Service as Principal Scientist (Agricultural Microbiology) at Indian Institute of Soybean Research, Indore (Under ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research)-DARE, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India). Dr Sharma has started his career in mycorrhizal research at University of Delhi and TERI New Delhi and while serving TERI he obtained Ph.D. in Microbiology from Jiwaji University Gwalior in 2002. He has specialised in soil microbiological research involving the uses of plant growth promoting microbes particularly arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in improved plant growth, soil carbon sequestration, drought tolerance and overall productivity of crops. He has been awarded many awards like gold medal award during his master’s course, best paper presentation and travel grant awards for participating abroad in various scientific meetings/conferences. He owned several external research grants (DBT, DST, ICAR) for his research on applied aspects of plant-AMF-microbe interactions. He has also been awarded the prestigious DBT-postdoctoral CREST Award-2013 under which he worked in ARS-USDA, MD USA during 2013-2014 on signature fatty acid biomarkers in soil. He is life member of several professional societies, member of scientific bodies, reviewer of many journals related to agri-life sciences (Frontiers, Elsevier, Springer, Scientific Reports etc.,) and deputed abroad to Iran, Australia, Portugal, Switzerland, USA at various occasions to participate in meetings and conferences. There are about 80 important research articles published in refereed journals, magazines and reviews articles in books of international repute and has many microbial accessions with NCBI database and cultures deposited in International Microbial Repository Authorities to his credit.

Bibliographic Information

Book Title : Plant Stress Biology

Book Subtitle : Strategies and Trends

Editors : Bhoopander Giri, Mahaveer Prasad Sharma

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9380-2

Publisher : Springer Singapore

eBook Packages : Biomedical and Life Sciences , Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020

Hardcover ISBN : 978-981-15-9379-6 Published: 06 February 2021

Softcover ISBN : 978-981-15-9382-6 Published: 06 February 2022

eBook ISBN : 978-981-15-9380-2 Published: 05 February 2021

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XVI, 510

Number of Illustrations : 4 b/w illustrations, 41 illustrations in colour

Topics : Plant Physiology , Plant Biochemistry , Plant Anatomy/Development , Agriculture

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• Frontiers in Microbiology
• Microbe and Virus Interactions with Plants
• Research Topics

Plant Viruses and Viroids: Molecular Biology, Ecology and Pathogenicity

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About this Research Topic

Plant viruses and viroids play critical roles in shaping ecosystems, affecting crop health, and influencing global food security. Production losses due to the plant virus and virus-like diseases has been estimated at 15-45 billion €/year. Understanding their behavior, transmission, and adaptation in a changing world is essential. On the other hand, the number of newly discovered genomes of viruses and viroid-like agents linked to plants and/or fungi is constantly increasing, but our understanding of their biological significance in the natural and agricultural ecosystems still needs to be understood. This Research Topic builds upon existing knowledge and aims to provide a holistic view of the virosphere’s newly discovered members, their impact on plants and response to environmental shifts. The virosphere, encompassing plant and fungal viruses, viroids and virod-like RNAS, is rapidly changing due to numerous factors. These include advancements in detection methods, intensified global trade, agricultural practices, and the impact of climate change. In recent decades, the emergence of new viruses and viroids led to significant outbreaks with huge production losses. Therefore, understanding their epidemiology and ecology is critical for developing appropriate management strategies within the context of integrated pest management. We still need to understand the effects of recently identified viruses and viroid-like agents on plants. Therefore, it is crucial to develop accurate and timely diagnostic methods and establish research models to comprehend their impact on ecosystems and effectively control diseases, if necessary. By constantly monitoring these changes and incorporating them into management strategies and detection methods, we can help protect global agriculture and ensure food security. This Research Topic explores the dynamic landscape of plant and fungal viruses, viroids, and viroid-like agents with the focus on the new or improved diagnostic methods, discovery of new agents, ecology and epidemiology studies. We would like to invite submissions of Original Research, Perspective, and Review articles. We aim to receive the manuscripts including (but is not limited to) the following aspects regarding plant, viruses, fungal viruses linked to plants, viroids and viroid-like agents: • Application of high throughput sequencing for the detection and identification Epidemiological and ecological studies • Development of new detection techniques • Studies of their evolution

Keywords : diagnostics, diversity, emerging pathogens, evolution, genetics, HTS, interactions, vectors

Important Note : All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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AI uncovers how plant science evolved

A new AI analysis of plant biology papers reveals what research topics countries are prioritizing and how different tools and technologies have steered the field.

Why it matters: AI is often touted as a tool to help scientists in a key aspect of their work: keeping up with a deluge of scientific papers.

• There are tens of thousands of papers published on different topics, their findings described in an exacting and nuanced language that can require expert proficiency to decipher.
• "Hopefully this will be an initial study to help people organize their own set of knowledge," study co-author Shin-Han Shiu of Michigan State University says.

What they found: Using machine learning and language algorithms to analyze nearly 422,000 abstracts of plant science papers, they found the evolution of the field of plant biology is often driven by technology that matures or reduces in cost.

• That was seen in a few major transitions in the field in the early 1980s as techniques for cloning genes became more widely used and a decade later as the tools for developing mutant plants improved, they write in PLoS Biology today.
• The most dramatic shift though was in the early 2000s, when genome sequencing became less costly.

Between the lines: The impact of AI, which is increasingly used in the field but only in the last 10 years, still isn't seen, Shiu says, adding he expects it see its effect on the field reflected in the literature in the next five years.

The big picture: The researchers also analyzed differences in research topics between countries.

• For example, new plant compounds associated with herbal medicine are a focus in China but not the U.S.
• They also found the U.S. is being overtaken by China as the top publisher in plant sciences, and there is a dramatic improvement in the quality of the papers from China measured by their impact in the field, Shiu says. This echoes broader trends about improved quality in papers from China documented in other research.
• These trends reflect research priorities and investments and could inform science policy and the funding of certain topics, they write.

Get more science news in your inbox with Axios Science.

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Study finds widespread 'cell cannibalism,' related phenomena across tree of life

Research has implications for human health, cancer treatment.

In a new review paper, Carlo Maley and Arizona State University colleagues describe cell-in-cell phenomena in which one cell engulfs and sometimes consumes another. The study shows that cases of this behavior, including cell cannibalism, are widespread across the tree of life.

The findings challenge the common perception that cell-in-cell events are largely restricted to cancer cells. Rather, these events appear to be common across diverse organisms, from single-celled amoebas to complex multicellular animals.

The widespread occurrence of such interactions in non-cancer cells suggests that these events are not inherently "selfish" or "cancerous" behaviors. Rather, the researchers propose that cell-in-cell phenomena may play crucial roles in normal development, homeostasis and stress response across a wide range of organisms.

The study argues that targeting cell-in-cell events as an approach to treating cancer should be abandoned, as these phenomena are not unique to malignancy.

By demonstrating that occurrences span a wide array of life forms and are deeply rooted in our genetic makeup, the research invites us to reconsider fundamental concepts of cellular cooperation, competition and the intricate nature of multicellularity. The study opens new avenues for research in evolutionary biology, oncology and regenerative medicine.

The new research, published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports , is the first to systematically investigate cell-in-cell phenomena across the tree of life. The group's findings could help redefine the understanding of cellular behavior and its implications for multicellularity, cancer and the evolutionary journey of life itself.

"We first got into this work because we learned that cells don't just compete for resources -- they actively kill and eat each other," Maley says. "That's a fascinating aspect of the ecology of cancer cells. But further exploration revealed that these phenomena happen in normal cells, and sometimes neither cell dies, resulting in an entirely new type of hybrid cell."

Maley is a researcher with the Biodesign Center for Biocomputing, Security and Society; professor in the School of Life Sciences at ASU; and director of the Arizona Cancer Evolution Center.

The study was conducted in collaboration with first author Stefania E. Kapsetaki, formerly with ASU and now a researcher at Tufts University, and Luis Cisneros, formerly with ASU and currently a researcher at Mayo Clinic.

From selfish to cooperative cell interactions

Cell-in-cell events have long been observed but remain poorly understood, especially outside the context of immune responses or cancer. The earliest genes responsible for cell-in-cell behavior date back over 2 billion years, suggesting the phenomena play an important, though yet-to-be-determined, role in living organisms. Understanding the diverse functions of cell-in-cell events, both in normal physiology and disease, is important for developing more effective cancer therapies.

The review delves into the occurrence, genetic underpinnings and evolutionary history of cell-in-cell phenomena, shedding light on a behavior once thought to be an anomaly. The researchers reviewed more than 500 articles to catalog the various forms of cell-in-cell phenomena observed across the tree of life.

The study describes 16 different taxonomic groups in which cell-in-cell behavior is found to occur. The cell-in-cell events were classified into six distinct categories based on the degree of relatedness between the host and prey cells, as well as the outcome of the interaction (whether one or both cells survived).

A spectrum of cell-in-cell behaviors are highlighted in the study, ranging from completely selfish acts, where one cell kills and consumes another, to more cooperative interactions, where both cells remain alive. For example, the researchers found evidence of "heterospecific killing," where a cell engulfs and kills a cell of a different species, across a wide range of unicellular, facultatively multicellular, and obligate multicellular organisms. In contrast, "conspecific killing," where a cell consumes another cell of the same species, was less common, observed in only three of the seven major taxonomic groups examined.

Obligate multicellular organisms are those that must exist in a multicellular form throughout their life cycle. They cannot survive or function as single cells. Examples include most animals and plants. Facultative multicellular organisms are organisms that can exist either as single cells or in a multicellular form depending on environmental conditions. For example, certain types of algae may live as single cells in some conditions but form multicellular colonies in others.

The team also documented cases of cell-in-cell phenomena where both the host and prey cells remained alive after the interaction, suggesting these events may serve important biological functions beyond just killing competitors.

"Our categorization of cell-in-cell phenomena across the tree of life is important for better understanding the evolution and mechanism of these phenomena," Kapsetaki says. "Why and how exactly do they happen? This is a question that requires further investigation across millions of living organisms, including organisms where cell-in-cell phenomena may not yet have been searched for."

Ancient genes

In addition to cataloging the diverse cell-in-cell behaviors, the researchers also investigated the evolutionary origins of the genes involved in these processes. Surprisingly, they found that many of the key cell-in-cell genes emerged long before the evolution of obligate multicellularity.

"When we look at genes associated with known cell-in-cell mechanisms in species that diverged from the human lineage a very long time ago, it turns out that the human orthologs (genes that evolved from a common ancestral gene) are typically associated with normal functions of multicellularity, like immune surveillance," Cisneros says.

In total, 38 genes associated with cell-in-cell phenomena were identified, and 14 of these originated over 2.2 billion years ago, predating the common ancestor of some facultatively multicellular organisms. This suggests that the molecular machinery for cell cannibalism evolved before the major transitions to complex multicellularity.

The ancient cell-in-cell genes identified in the study are involved in a variety of cellular processes, including cell-cell adhesion, phagocytosis (engulfment), intracellular killing of pathogens and regulation of energy metabolism. This diversity of functions indicates that cell-in-cell events likely served important roles even in single-celled and simple multicellular organisms well before the emergence of complex multicellular life.

• Developmental Biology
• Cell Biology
• Molecular Biology
• Biotechnology
• Biotechnology and Bioengineering
• Cell (biology)
• Somatic cell nuclear transfer
• Adult stem cell
• Somatic cell

Story Source:

Materials provided by Arizona State University . Original written by Richard Harth. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Stefania E. Kapsetaki, Luis H. Cisneros, Carlo C. Maley. Cell-in-cell phenomena across the tree of life . Scientific Reports , 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57528-7

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