Role of Promising Secondary Metabolites to Confer Resistance Against Environmental Stresses in Crop Plants: Current Scenario and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Plants often face incompatible growing environments like drought, salinity, cold, frost, and elevated temperatures that affect plant growth and development leading to low yield and, in worse circumstances, plant death. The arsenal of versatile compounds for plant consumption and structure is called metabolites, which allows them to develop strategies to stop enemies, fight pathogens, replace their competitors and go beyond environmental restraints. These elements are formed under particular abiotic stresses like flooding, heat, drought, cold, etc., and biotic stress such as a pathogenic attack, thus associated with survival strategy of plants. Stress responses of plants are vigorous and include multifaceted crosstalk between different levels of regulation, including regulation of metabolism and expression of genes for morphological and physiological adaptation. To date, many of these compounds and their biosynthetic pathways have been found in the plant kingdom. Metabolites like amino acids, phenolics, hormones, polyamines, compatible solutes, antioxidants, pathogen related proteins (PR proteins), etc. are crucial for growth, stress tolerance, and plant defense. This review focuses on promising metabolites involved in stress tolerance under severe conditions and events signaling the mediation of stress-induced metabolic changes are presented.

Enhanced Production of Active Photosynthetic and Biochemical Molecules in Silybum marianum L. Using Biotic and Abiotic Elicitors in Hydroponic Culture

“…The maximum increase in phenolic compounds was observed in Giza 35 (soybean genotype) under MeJA treatment [ 1 , 65 ]. The authors of reference [ 66 ] also found that the formation of phenols in plant tissues increases under conditions of biotic stress [ 67 ]. Previous reports by the authors of reference [ 68 ] showed an increase in phenolic compounds under the effect of MeJA treatment.…”

Biotechnological response curve of the cyanobacterium Spirulina subsalsa to light energy gradient

“…Both the human health and feed sector could profit from the remarkable microalgal secondary metabolites content and diversity [ 3 , 5 ], such as PUFAs, vitamins, carotenoids or polyphenols [ 6 – 8 ]. Cells regulate secondary metabolite synthesis is regulated by cells in response to driving forces inducing protection, signaling, defense or repair mechanisms [ 9 , 10 ]. The cellular level of secondary metabolites depends thus on both cell and environment constraints, i.e., on the organismal fitness within its environment and its variations.…”

Plant-based expression platforms to produce high-value metabolites and proteins

“…Plants can be also used to produce high-value secondary metabolites (SMs). The SMs are produced from primary metabolic pathways and are induced in limited quantities during plant growth, development, and abiotic/biotic interactions ( Chen et al., 2022 ). SMs have broad activities against viral, bacterial, and fungal infections and are used to treat various diseases like cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and neurological and respiratory disorders ( De Filippis, 2016 ).…”