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,
Huang Guoqin
Affiliations
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
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.
