Regulation of Adaptive Responses in Plants

This book has been inspired by the topics raised and discussed at the Second International Conference 'Plant Stress and Adaptation' organized by the Yuriev Plant Production Institute of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (Kharkiv) and the Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv) in June 2023, which have been further expanded and updated by scientists from Ukraine, Poland, USA, Lithuania, Italy, and Czech Republic. Chapter one is devoted to the analysis and systematization of literature data on the influence of separate and combined action of drought and high temperature on physiological and biochemical processes and plant productivity. Chapter two deals with the participation of the hormonal complex (abscisic acid, auxins, gibberellins, salicylic acid) in the adaptation of cereal grains (mainly different types of wheat) to the action of high temperatures and drought. Chapter three critically reviews and synthesizes recent data that elucidate the complex involvement of cytokinins in the development of stress tolerance in cultivated cereals. In chapter four, the ways of synthesis and metabolism of salicylic acid as one of the stress phytohormones is considered. The importance of another stress hormone, jasmonic acid, is discussed in chapter five. Chapter six deals with the pathways of melatonin synthesis in plants and changes in its content in response to stress. Chapter seven describes the metabolic and transport pathways of GABA in cells, its functions in plants, and its relationship to other biologically active plant molecules such as proline and polyamines. A largely new perspective on the involvement of phenolic compounds and other chelators in plant adaptation to heavy metals and other stresses is presented in chapter eight. Chapter nine analyzes data on the impact of plastics on crop performance and describes the associated threats to human food safety. The last chapter focuses on the role of peroxisomes and parameters of ROS homeostasis and the functioning of redox signaling in the response of wheat plants to viral and fungal pathogens.