title: [Role of micro-organisms in adapting plants to environmental stress             conditions].
abstract: Due to their sessile nature, plants have always been confronted to various abiotic and           biotic stresses in their immediate environment. As a consequence, the survival of plants           depended on their ability to adjust rapidly their physiology, development and growth to           escape or mitigate the impacts of stress. All plants are known to perceive and respond to           stress signals such as drought, heat, salinity, attacks by herbivores and pathogens. Some           biochemical processes are common to all plant stress responses including the production of           certain stress proteins and metabolites, as well as the modification of the reactive           oxygen species (ROS) metabolism. Although there has been extensive research in the plant           stress response field, it is not yet known which factors are responsible for conferring to           some plant species the capacity to colonize extreme habitats. Although considerable           progress has been made in our understanding of plant stress physiology, the contribution           of the plant-associated microbial community in the soil, commonly called the rhizosphere,           has only recently received enhanced attention. Recent studies showed that some plant           species in natural habitats require microbial associations for stress tolerance and           survival. Since plants have colonized land, they have evolved mechanisms to respond to           changing environmental conditions and settle in extreme habitats. Although many plants           lack the adaptive capability to adapt to stress conditions, the ability of a variety of           plants to adapt to stress conditions appears to depend on the association with microbes,           raising a number of questions: can all plants improve stress tolerance when associated           with their appropriate microbial partners? Did we miss identifying the right partners for           a given plant species or variety? What distinguishes the microbes and plants that are           adapted to extreme environmental conditions from those living in temperate zones? Answers           to these questions are likely to revolutionize plant biology and could lead to new methods           for a sustainable agriculture.
authors: Unité de Recherche en Génomique Végétale, UMR INRA 1165 – CNRS 8114 – Université d’Évry, 2 rue Gaston Crémieux, 91000 Évry, France. Hirt@evry.inra.fr
authors: Heribert
authors: H
authors: Hirt
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000383:Agriculture; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D004777:Environment; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D010944:Plants; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*