Updates and Prospects: Morphological, Physiological, and Molecular Regulation in Crop Response to Waterlogging Stress

Abstract

With the frequent occurrence of extreme weather such as typhoons and rainstorms, waterlogging has become one of the most important threats to global crop growth and production. Waterlogging limits plants’ access to oxygen and light, leading to disadvantageous changes in metabolism to disturb plant growth and development. To escape the damage of hypoxia or promote the diffusion of oxygen to submerged organs, plants respond to waterlogging stress by regulating their morphological structure, photosynthesis, respiration, energy metabolism, and endogenous plant hormone biosynthesis/signal transduction. The adventitious roots (AR), aerenchyma, and stem internode are the major target structure for waterlogging adaptation. The molecular mechanism of crop survival under waterlogging conditions and the key genes related photosynthesis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis, and ethylene signal transduction are reviewed. We also elucidated recent advances in the study of interactions between various regulatory pathways and emphasized the important role of stress memory and cross-stress mechanisms in plant response to abiotic stress, indicating the importance of epigenetic modifications. On the basis of above, the research direction and focus of plants coping with waterlogging stress in the future are proposed. This review provides rich genetic resources and a theoretical basis for improving the genetic breeding of crop resistance to waterlogging.