Physiological and Molecular Aspects of Tolerance to Environmental Constraints in Grain and Forage Legumes.
Despite the agronomical and environmental advantages of the cultivation of legumes, their production is limited by various environmental constraints such as water or nutrient limitation, frost or heat stress and soil salinity, which may be the result of pedoclimatic conditions, intensive use of agricultural lands, decline in soil fertility and environmental degradation. The development of more sustainable agroecosystems that are resilient to environmental constraints will therefore require better understanding of the key mechanisms underlying plant tolerance to abiotic constraints. This review provides highlights of legume tolerance to abiotic constraints with a focus on soil nutrient deficiencies, drought, and salinity. More specifically, recent advances in the physiological and molecular levels of the adaptation of grain and forage legumes to abiotic constraints are discussed. Such adaptation involves complex multigene controlled-traits which also involve multiple sub-traits that are likely regulated under the control of a number of candidate genes. This multi-genetic control of tolerance traits might also be multifunctional, with extended action in response to a number of abiotic constraints. Thus, concrete efforts are required to breed for multifunctional candidate genes in order to boost plant stability under various abiotic constraints.
Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 103, SE-23053 Alnarp, Sweden. adnane.bargaz@slu.se.
Bargaz
B
Adnane
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Southern Africa Regional Office, MP163 Harare, Zimbabwe. z.mainassaraabdou@cgiar.org.
Zaman-Allah
ZA
Mainassara
Polyvalent Laboratory for Research & Development, Polydisciplinary Faculty, Sultan Moulay Sliman University, 23000 Beni-Mellal, Morocco. farissimohamed@gmail.com.
Farissi
F
Mohamed
Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie & des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Khemis Miliana, 44225 Ain Defla, Algeria. m.lazali@yahoo.fr.
Lazali
L
Mohamed
Unité mixte de recherche, Écologie Fonctionnelle & Biogéochimie des Sols et Agroécosystèmes, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 34060 Montpellier, France. drevonjj@supagro.inra.fr.
Drevon
D
Jean-Jacques
Laboratoire de génétique Biochimie et biotechnologies végétales Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Université des frères Mentouri, 25017 Constantine, Algeria. maougalr@gmail.com.
Maougal T
MT
Rim
Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 103, SE-23053 Alnarp, Sweden. georg.carlsson@slu.se.
Carlsson
C
Georg
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D055864:Droughts; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D054712:Salinity; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry
D012987:Soil
abiotic constraints; drought; legume; phosphorus; salinity