Maize Responses Challenged by Drought, Elevated Daytime Temperature and Arthropod Herbivory Stresses: A Physiological, Biochemical and Molecular View

Abstract

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the main cereals grown around the world. It is used for human and animal nutrition and also as biofuel. However, as a direct consequence of global climate change, increased abiotic and biotic stress events have been reported in different regions of the world, which have become a threat to world maize yields. Drought and heat are environmental stresses that influence the growth, development, and yield processes of maize crops. Plants have developed dynamic responses at the physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels that allow them to escape, avoid and/or tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions. Arthropod herbivory can generate resistance or tolerance responses in plants that are associated with inducible and constitutive defenses. Increases in the frequency and severity of abiotic stress events (drought and heat), as a consequence of climate change, can generate critical variations in plant-insect interactions. However, the behavior of herbivorous arthropods under drought scenarios is not well understood, and this kind of stress may have some positive and negative effects on arthropod populations. The simultaneous appearance of different environmental stresses and biotic factors results in very complex plant responses. In this review, recent information is provided on the physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of plants to the combination of drought, heat stress, and the effect on some arthropod pests of interest in the maize crop.

Cacao agroforestry systems beyond the stigmas: Biotic and abiotic stress incidence impact

“…This phenomenon is known as plant stress memory ( Nikiforou and Manetas, 2017 ; Pintó-Marijuan et al, 2017 ; Auler et al, 2021 ) and is directly related to the cross-tolerance processes that have been observed in plants ( Carvalho and Silveira, 2020 ). For example, recently Chávez-Arias et al (2021) highlighted that the combination of some abiotic stresses and arthropod herbivory in maize may increase the production of volatile and non-volatile compounds resulting in improved response to pest infestations.…”

Overexpression of a Gene Encoding Trigonelline Synthase from Areca catechu L. Promotes Drought Resilience in Transgenic Arabidopsis

“…Drought presents an increasing threat to plant survival and distribution due to global climate change. Drought stress antagonistically regulates plant growth and development via environmental stimuli including elevated temperature, high salinity and limited water availability [1][2][3][4]. Plants are sessile and have evolved an advanced drought-responsive mechanism to deal with drought stress.…”

Genome-Wide Association Study Reveals Genetic Architecture and Candidate Genes for Yield and Related Traits under Terminal Drought, Combined Heat and Drought in Tropical Maize Germplasm

“…Conversely, drought and or terminal drought at seedling stage has deleterious impacts on seedling establishment, vegetative growth, photosynthesis, root growth, anthesis, anthesis–silking interval, pollination, and grain formation in maize [ 23 , 24 ]. Combined heat and drought is well documented to reduce photosynthetic efficiency, stomatal conductance, leaf area, water use efficiency, and ultimately grain reduction [ 25 , 26 ]. There is more propelling evidence that the combined effect of heat and drought on plant growth and productivity is more severe than the individual effects of these stresses in several crops including maize [ 25 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”

“…Combined heat and drought is well documented to reduce photosynthetic efficiency, stomatal conductance, leaf area, water use efficiency, and ultimately grain reduction [ 25 , 26 ]. There is more propelling evidence that the combined effect of heat and drought on plant growth and productivity is more severe than the individual effects of these stresses in several crops including maize [ 25 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Briefly, combined heat and drought is achieved when the field/plants receive adequate water from planting up to 2–3 weeks before anthesis [ 32 , 33 ], while terminal drought occurs when the field/plants receive adequate water every week from planting up to 32 days after planting [ 33 , 34 ]…”