Functional genomics for gene discovery in abiotic stress response and tolerance

摘要

Plants respond to abiotic stresses, such as drought, high salinity, and cold, to acquire stress tolerance. Molecular and genomic studies have shown that a number of genes with various functions are induced by abiotic stresses, and that various transcription factors are involved in the regulation of stress-induc-ible genes in Arabidopsis and rice. These gene products function not only in stress tolerance but also in stress response. In this review, recent progress in the analysis of complex cascades of gene expression in drought and cold stress responses is summarized. Various genes involved in stress tolerance are also discussed for their application to molecular breeding of drought, salinity, and/or cold stress tolerance.