Toward Understanding Molecular Mechanisms of Abiotic Stress Responses in Rice

Plants have evolved delicate mechanisms to cope with environmental stress. Following exposure to environmental stimuli, extracellular signals are perceived and transmitted through signal transduction cascades. Upon receipt and transmission of the signals, a number of stress-related genes are induced, leading to stress adaptation in plant cells. Rice, which is a critical food grain for a large portion of the world's population, is frequently impacted by several abiotic stressors, the most important of which are drought, salinity, and cold. Exposure to environmental conditions outside of acceptable tolerance ranges can negatively affect rice growth and production. In this paper, a review of rice responses to abiotic stress is presented, with particular attention to the genes and pathways related to environmental stress tolerance. It is apparent that, while progress has been made in identifying genes involved in stress adaptation, many questions remain. Understanding the mechanisms of stress response in rice is important for all research designed to develop new rice varieties with improved tolerance.