Shade and microbes enhance drought stress tolerance in plants by inducing phytohormones at molecular levels: A review

Abstract

Plants are exposed to several adverse environmental effects during their life span. Among them drought stress is one of the major threats to agricultural productivity. In order to survive in such unstable environment, plants have developed mechanisms through which they recognize the severity of the stress based on the incoming environmental stimuli. To combat the detrimental effects of drought, the plants use various strategies to modulate their physio-hormonal attributes. They can be modulated by shade and microbes, which process can enhances drought tolerance and reduce yield loss. Plant hormones, such as abscisic acid, auxin and ethylene have a major role in the shade- and microbe-associated improvement of drought tolerance through their effects on various metabolic pathways. In this process, the CLAVATA3/EMBRYOSURROUNDING REGION-RELATED 25 peptide has a major role due to its effect on ABA synthesis as shown in our regulatory model.