Plant adaptations to the combination of drought and hightemperatures

Abstract

Under field conditions crops are routinely subjected to a number of differentabiotic stress factors simultaneously. Recent studies revealed that the responseof plants to a combination of different abiotic stresses is unique and cannotbe directly extrapolated from simply studying each of the different stressesapplied individually. These studies have also identified specific regulatorytranscripts, combinations of metabolites and proteins, and physiologicalresponses that are unique to specific stress combinations, highlighting theimportance of studying abiotic stress combination in plants. Here we describethe interactions between drought and other abiotic stresses with emphasis ondrought and heat stress. We compile new data about the different molecular,physiological and metabolic adaptations of different plants and crops to thisstress combination and we highlight the importance of reactive oxygen species(ROS) metabolism and stomatal responses for plant acclimation to droughtand heat stress combination. We further emphasize the need for developingcrops with enhanced tolerance to drought and heat stress combination inorder to mitigate the negative impacts of predicted global climatic changeson agricultural production worldwide.