Pedigree or identity? How genome editing can fundamentally change the path for crop development

Plant responses to climate change, how global warming may impact on food security: a critical review

Global agricultural production must double by 2050 to meet the demands of an increasing world human population but this challenge is further exacerbated by climate change. Environmental stress, heat, and drought are key drivers in food security and strongly impacts on crop productivity. Moreover, global warming is threatening the survival of many species including those which we rely on for food production, forcing migration of cultivation areas with further impoverishing of the environment and of the genetic variability of crop species with fall out effects on food security. This review considers the relationship of climatic changes and their bearing on sustainability of natural and agricultural ecosystems, as well as the role of omics-technologies, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, phenomics and ionomics. The use of resource saving technologies such as precision agriculture and new fertilization technologies are discussed with a focus on their use in breeding plants with higher tolerance and adaptability and as mitigation tools for global warming and climate changes. Nevertheless, plants are exposed to multiple stresses. This study lays the basis for the proposition of a novel research paradigm which is referred to a holistic approach and that went beyond the exclusive concept of crop yield, but that included sustainability, socio-economic impacts of production, commercialization, and agroecosystem management.

Plants and global warming: challenges and strategies for a warming world

KEY MESSAGE

In this review, we made an attempt to create a holistic picture of plant response to a rising temperature environment and its impact by covering all aspects from temperature perception to thermotolerance. This comprehensive account describing the molecular mechanisms orchestrating these responses and potential mitigation strategies will be helpful for understanding the impact of global warming on plant life. Organisms need to constantly recalibrate development and physiology in response to changes in their environment. Climate change-associated global warming is amplifying the intensity and periodicity of these changes. Being sessile, plants are particularly vulnerable to variations happening around them. These changes can cause structural, metabolomic, and physiological perturbations, leading to alterations in the growth program and in extreme cases, plant death. In general, plants have a remarkable ability to respond to these challenges, supported by an elaborate mechanism to sense and respond to external changes. Once perceived, plants integrate these signals into the growth program so that their development and physiology can be modulated befittingly. This multifaceted signaling network, which helps plants to establish acclimation and survival responses enabled their extensive geographical distribution. Temperature is one of the key environmental variables that affect all aspects of plant life. Over the years, our knowledge of how plants perceive temperature and how they respond to heat stress has improved significantly. However, a comprehensive mechanistic understanding of the process still largely elusive. This review explores how an increase in the global surface temperature detrimentally affects plant survival and productivity and discusses current understanding of plant responses to high temperature (HT) and underlying mechanisms. We also highlighted potential resilience attributes that can be utilized to mitigate the impact of global warming.