Improving tolerance to zinc deficiency and salt stress in plants by modification of F-class bZIP genes

Abstract

Growth and development are dynamic and complex processes frequently subjected to environmental stresses. Stress is an external factor that exerts a disadvantageous influence on the plant and induces a series of molecular and physiological changes in order to normalize the life processes. Zinc is an essential micronutrient responsible for the maintenance of vital processes in all living organisms, however, zinc deficiency is a serious global problem that results in lost productivity and nutritional quality of food, which has a direct and indirect negative effect on human health and well-being. Currently, the techniques that aim to modulate gene expression by controlling initial transcription rates have helped to unravel the complex network of homeostasis of the plants subjected to stress. The research described in this thesis was designed with the main purpose of increasing tolerance to zinc deficiency and enhance zinc accumulation in plants by modifying the expression of the bZIP gene. The results of this study are very promising for agriculture because they may contribute to increased productivity and plant robustness in areas that are suffering from low zinc bioavailability.