Modifications in Ultrastructural Characteristics and Redox Status of Plants under Environmental Stress: A Review

Abstract

The rate of global environmental change is unprecedented, with climate change causing an increase in the oscillation and intensification of various abiotic stress factors that have negative impacts on crop production. This issue has become an alarming global concern, especially for countries already facing the threat of food insecurity. Abiotic stressors, such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, and metal (nanoparticle) toxicities, are recognized as major constraints in agriculture, and are closely associated with the crop yield penalty and losses in food supply. In order to combat abiotic stress, it is important to understand how plant organs adapt to changing conditions, as this can help produce more stress-resistant or stress-tolerant plants. The investigation of plant tissue ultrastructure and subcellular components can provide valuable insights into plant responses to abiotic stress-related stimuli. In particular, the columella cells (statocytes) of the root cap exhibit a unique architecture that is easily recognizable under a transmission electron microscope, making them a useful experimental model for ultrastructural observations. In combination with the assessment of plant oxidative/antioxidative status, both approaches can shed more light on the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in plant adaptation to environmental cues. This review summarizes life-threatening factors of the changing environment that lead to stress-related damage to plants, with an emphasis on their subcellular components. Additionally, selected plant responses to such conditions in the context of their ability to adapt and survive in a challenging environment are also described.

Alterations in the Anatomy and Ultrastructure of Leaf Blade in Norway Maple (Acer platanoides L.) Growing on Mining Sludge: Prospects of Using This Tree Species for Phytoremediation

“…Interestingly, the thickness of the entire leaf blade in maple growing on mining sludge and in the control was similar. This differs from the responses of other plant species exposed to TE, described in other papers where alterations in leaf thickness were commonly detected [20,36,45]. They were usually related to a decrease in palisade parenchyma width, similarly to the leaf of Norway maple growing on mining sludge in our experiment and/or reduction in spongy parenchyma.…”

Physiological and Transcriptional Analyses Provide Insight into Maintaining Ion Homeostasis of Sweet Sorghum under Salt Stress

“…The maintenance of cellular organelle characteristics is essential for higher plants to adapt to environmental stresses [ 10 ]. For plants grown in saline conditions, osmotic stress and ion toxicity result in a large formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which could primarily damage cell membranes, organelles and nucleolus and, as a consequence, trigger oxidative stress on plant growth [ 49 ].…”

“…Cellular organelles are crucial for stress tolerance of plants [ 10 ]. To identify key genes that are possibly involved in maintaining cell organelle characteristics, we at last performed GO analysis on DEGs that are categorized into cellular components in different tissues after salt treatment for 6 and 48 h.…”

“…Salinity affects plant growth by directly imposing osmotic stress and ion toxicity or resulting in secondary stress such as oxidative stress and eventually restricting many biological processes such as photosynthesis, water uptake and nutrient acquisition or damaging the ultrastructure of plant cells [ 1 , 10 ]. Although researchers have analyzed growth and photosynthetic performance of sweet sorghum under salt stress and investigated the response of genes involved in photosynthesis, sugar biosynthesis and biological processes to salt treatments [ 11 , 12 ], the molecular mechanisms of sweet sorghum coping with ion toxicity are not well documented.…”

Cell Protection by Oxidative Stress Mitigation Using Substances with Bioactive Properties

“…In a healthy organism, ROS, which include superoxide radical (O 2 •− ), singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ), H 2 O 2 , perhydroxyl radical O 2 H • , or hydroxyl radical (OH • ), regulate various physiological processes such as differentiation, stress signaling, long-distance signaling, redox levels, immune response, cell death, etc. [2].…”