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Engineering Glycine Betaine Biosynthesis in Alleviating Abiotic Stress Effects in Plants

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Compatible Solutes Engineering for Crop Plants Facing Climate Change

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Abstract

The severe impact of climate change on crop production is already evident; there are strong chances of further changes occurring. Therefore, there is an urgent need to address agricultural adaptation more coherently. Adapting agriculture to the increasing scale of climate risks will ensure food security and sustainability. An increase in intensity and frequency of temperature extremes such as heat and cold along with other abiotic stresses such as salinity and drought are all manifestations of a global environmental change. Owing to their sessile nature, plants have developed several strategies to adapt to the adverse effects of abiotic stresses, synthesis, and build-up of osmoprotectants being one of them. Osmoprotectants are soluble organic compounds compatible with the cellular metabolism and hence are also known as compatible solutes. Among the various compatible solutes, Glycine betaine (GB) is most effective in imparting abiotic stress tolerance to plants. There is enough evidence to suggest the protective role of GB owing to its versatility and ability to accumulate under unfavourable conditions. GB, however, does not accumulate in many crop plants such as rice, tobacco, etc. Tailoring the GB biosynthetic pathway has thus been one of most promising strategies in reducing susceptibility of such crops to abiotic stresses. A number of crop plants have been engineered since then with an objective to increase the accumulation of GB to acquire improved stress tolerance. In this chapter, we shall discuss about the role of GB in ameliorating stress tolerance in plants, major breakthroughs in engineering its pathway, magnitude and mechanism of protective effects, challenges faced, strategies to overcome limitations and future prospects.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

AREB/ABF:

ABA responsive element binding

CAT:

Catalase

DMSP:

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate

DREB:

Dehydration Responsive Element Binding

FAO:

Food and Agricultural Organisation

FBPase:

Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase

GB:

Glycine betaine

H2O2:

Hydrogen peroxide

HK:

Histidine Kinases

MAPK:

Mitogen Activated Protein kinase

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

NAC:

NAM/ATAF/CUC

NaCl:

Sodium chloride

NADP:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

NT:

Non-Treated

PSII:

Photosystem II

ROS:

Reactive Oxygen Species

Rubisco:

Ribulose-1,5-biphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

T-DNA:

Transfer DNA

ZF-HD:

Zinc finger Homeodomain

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  1. Bidisha Bhowal and Prakash Chandra contributed equally with all other contributors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Delhi Technological University, Delhi, India

    Bidisha Bhowal & Prakash Chandra

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Central University of Haryana, Mahendergarh, Haryana, India

    Saurabh C. Saxena

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  1. Bidisha Bhowal
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  2. Prakash Chandra
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  3. Saurabh C. Saxena
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Correspondence to Saurabh C. Saxena .

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  1. Mountain Research Centre for Field Crops, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Shabir Hussain Wani

  2. Department of Plant Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Manu Pratap Gangola

  3. Bioriginal Food and Science Corporation, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Bharathi Raja Ramadoss

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Bhowal, B., Chandra, P., Saxena, S.C. (2021). Engineering Glycine Betaine Biosynthesis in Alleviating Abiotic Stress Effects in Plants. In: Wani, S.H., Gangola, M.P., Ramadoss, B.R. (eds) Compatible Solutes Engineering for Crop Plants Facing Climate Change. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80674-3_4

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