Protein Structure–Function Paradigm in Plant Stress Tolerance

Abstract

Abiotic stresses lead to major losses of crops and fertile land worldwide. The increased percentage of arable land affected by various kinds of abiotic stresses has intensified the need to understand the different biochemical and physiological changes experienced by plants. There is an urgent need for transgenic plants having a high yield, yet also being stress tolerant, to counter this situation. Various plant and fungal proteins have been identified and characterized at the biochemical, physiological, and molecular levels, imparting stress tolerance in various model plant systems. Understanding the molecular mechanism of these proteins at atomic resolution using structural biology approaches gives a distinct edge over traditional approaches. Various proteins involved in countering abiotic stress conditions in various model organism and their future prospects are discussed with respect to their high-resolution structural information.