Importance of protective compounds in stress tolerance

Abstract

Plants are delimited by variety of environmental stresses which affect them throughout their life cycle. These stresses particularly salt, cold, and drought hamper their development, productivity resulting in great loss in crop yield across globe. To overcome environmental stresses, plants have acquired wide range of defensive response including altered gene expression, change in cellular metabolism in terms of accumulation of low-molecular-weight compounds. These metabolites include amino acids, sugars, sugar alcohols, and quaternary amines that protect proteins and membranes against damage. This chapter is intended to give an overview of osmoprotective compounds with an emphasis on recent advances describing their function, significance in adaptation, and their potential to perk up stress tolerance.