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Preface
Plant growth and development is significantly influenced by environmental factors. Due to rapid global climate change both biotic and abiotic stresses have intensified and so have the deleterious effects on normal plant growth and productivity. Environmental stress-mediated decline in plant productivity imparts significant pressure on global food security, and therefore threatens the likelihood of serious food crises in the near future for the increasing world population. Stresses result in oxidative damage through excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), thereby inducing the oxidation of lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Plants have evolved key mechanisms to counteract the damaging effects of stresses. Osmolyte and secondary metabolite accumulation, the antioxidant system, phytochelatin production, ion compartmentation and exclusion, etc. are some of the key mechanisms to counteract the stress factors. All these tolerance mechanisms are regulated at the gene and protein level. Plants exhibiting upregulation
