Understanding and improving global crop response to ozone pollution.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Environmental Science
• Plant Biology

Background:

• Ground-level ozone (O3) concentrations have more than doubled globally since pre-industrial times.
• O3 variability complicates impact assessment and crop breeding for tolerance.
• Understanding cellular O3 responses is crucial for developing tolerant crop varieties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide background and justification for breeding and biotechnological approaches to enhance crop O3 tolerance.
• To highlight the need for improved methods to assess O3 impacts and develop tolerant crops.
• To bridge the gap between laboratory findings and field applications for O3 tolerance.

Main Methods:

• Reviewing recent modeling efforts on O3 effects on crop productivity.
• Analyzing experimental advances in cellular O3 sensing, signaling, and response mechanisms.
• Examining within-species variation in O3 tolerance for mapping population screening.

Main Results:

• Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for O3 tolerance have been identified in various species.
• Transcript profiling has identified candidate genes associated with O3 tolerance QTL.
• Biotechnological strategies are under development, but require further research.

Conclusions:

• Significant within-species variation exists, enabling genetic approaches for O3 tolerance.
• Translating laboratory findings to field conditions and correlating visual damage with yield loss are critical challenges.
• Future research should focus on field screening and identifying robust O3 tolerance phenotypes.