Genomics of temperature stress

The environment is constantly affecting all organisms in many different ways during their entire lifespan. In particular, plant environmental stresses are external influences, including abiotic and biotic factors. These can be severe enough to cause detrimental effects on plant survival, growth and reproduction. Environmental stresses can act in complex combinations between one another. However, the study of individual stresses is needed to gain comprehensive understanding of the impacts. Temperature is a stress which significantly affects all life processes in plants, including plant yield and productivity. In their natural environment, plants can adapt to fluctuating temperatures. Their ability to withstand high temperatures is referred as thermotolerance and has gained high interest to be analyzed. Even though, temperature stresses raise very clear phenotypic responses, the complexity of molecular events and responses involved in stress adaptation are still undefined. In recent years, advances in genome-wide studies have contributed to the understanding of plants as complex adaptive systems in response to different stresses. In this chapter, the consequences of heat and cold stress in economically important crops, as well as acclimation mechanisms, are described. A discussion of the latest genomic approaches to improve crop tolerance to temperature stress is also presented