Metabolic Responses of Medicinal Plants to Global Warming, Temperature and Heat Stress

• Published in: Medicinal Plants and Environmental Challenges pp. 69 - 80
• Main Authors: Wani, Shabir H., Kapoor, Nisha, Mahajan, Ritu
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Springer International Publishing AG 2017; Springer International Publishing
• Subjects: Botany & plant sciences; Ecological science, the Biosphere; Heat shock; Osmolytes; Pharmacology; Phytohormones; Secondary metabolites; Stress tolerance
• ISBN: 3319687166; 9783319687162
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-68717-9_4

Global warming has resulted in strong heat waves which has severely affected the growth and development of the plants. The changes in distinct metabolic pathways have hampered the adaptive responses of plants to different environmental stresses. Extreme variations in temperature during summers have a significant impact on agricultural production worldwide because the heat waves cause yield losses that risks the future global food security. However, the plants have made certain adjustments to cope up with the adverse environmental conditions which includes the production of compatible solutes that could maintain the cell turgor by stabilizing the osmotic regulation. Even at the molecular level, various modifications in the expression of genes protect the plants from heat stress. Further, the collaboration of molecular biologists and plant breeders, to develop new genotypes by identifying and introgressing the tolerance genes that can result in plants with acceptance to wide range of environmental stresses.