The Critical Role of Zinc in Plants Facing the Drought Stress

Muhammad Umair Hassan, Muhammad Aamer, Muhammad Umer Chattha, Tang Haiying, Babar Shahzad, Lorenzo Barbanti, Muhammad Nawaz, Adnan Rasheed, Aniqa Afzal, Ying Liu and Huang Guoqin
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Muhammad Umair Hassan: Research Centre on Ecological Sciences, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Muhammad Aamer: Research Centre on Ecological Sciences, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Muhammad Umer Chattha: Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Tang Haiying: Research Centre on Ecological Sciences, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Babar Shahzad: Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Hobart 7005, Australia
Lorenzo Barbanti: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Muhammad Nawaz: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
Adnan Rasheed: Key Laboratory of Crops Physiology, Ecology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Education/College of Agronomy, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Aniqa Afzal: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Ying Liu: Research Centre on Ecological Sciences, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Huang Guoqin: Research Centre on Ecological Sciences, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-20

Abstract: Drought stress affects plant growth and development by altering physiological and biochemical processes resulting in reduced crop productivity. Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient that plays fundamental roles in crop resistance against the drought stress by regulating various physiological and molecular mechanisms. Under drought stress, Zn application improves seed germination, plant water relations, cell membrane stability, osmolyte accumulation, stomatal regulation, water use efficiency and photosynthesis, thus resulting in significantly better plant performance. Moreover, Zn interacts with plant hormones, increases the expression of stress proteins and stimulates the antioxidant enzymes for counteracting drought effects. To better appraise the potential benefits arising from optimum Zn nutrition, in the present review we discuss the role of Zn in plants under drought stress. Our aim is to provide a complete, updated picture in order to orientate future research directions on this topic.

Keywords: aquaporins; cell signaling; drought stress; hormone; photosynthesis; ROS; Zn (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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