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SUMMARY The complexity of environmental conditions encountered by plants in the field, or in nature, is gradually increasing due to anthropogenic activities that promote global warming, climate change, and increased levels of pollutants. While in the past it seemed sufficient to study how plants acclimate to one or even two different stresses affecting them simultaneously, the complex conditions developing on our planet necessitate a new approach of studying stress in plants: Acclimation to multiple stress conditions occurring concurrently or consecutively (termed, multifactorial stress combination [MFSC]). In an initial study of the plant response to MFSC, conducted withArabidopsis thalianaseedlings subjected to an MFSC of six different abiotic stresses, it was found that with the increase in the number and complexity of different stresses simultaneously impacting a plant, plant growth and survival declined, even if the effects of each stress involved in such MFSC on the plant was minimal or insignificant. In three recent studies, conducted with different crop plants, MFSC was found to have similar effects on a commercial rice cultivar, a maize hybrid, tomato, and soybean, causing significant reductions in growth, biomass, physiological parameters, and/or yield traits. As the environmental conditions on our planet are gradually worsening, as well as becoming more complex, addressing MFSC and its effects on agriculture and ecosystems worldwide becomes a high priority. In this review, we address the effects of MFSC on plants, crops, agriculture, and different ecosystems worldwide, and highlight potential avenues to enhance the resilience of crops to MFSC.
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Plant responses to multifactorial stress combination
Summary Human activity is causing a global change in plant environment that includes a significant increase in the number and intensity of different stress factors. These include combinations of multiple abiotic and biotic stressors that simultaneously or sequentially impact plants and microbiomes, causing a significant decrease in plant growth, yield and overall health. It was recently found that with the increasing number and complexity of stressors simultaneously impacting a plant, plant growth and survival decline dramatically, even if the level of each individual stress, involved in such ‘multifactorial stress combination’, is low enough not to have a significant effect. Here we highlight this new concept of multifactorial stress combination and discuss its importance for our efforts to develop climate change‐resilient crops.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1932639
- PAR ID:
- 10367954
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- New Phytologist
- Volume:
- 234
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0028-646X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1161-1167
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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