From Stress to Success: Strategies for Improving Heat Tolerance in Wheat

作者：Muhammad Ahmad, Maryium Sajjad, Aman Ullah, Usman Zulfiqar, Sami Ul‐Allah, Ejaz Ahmad Waraich, Kaleem ul din, Kadambot H. M. Siddique, Muhammad Farooq · 发表于：Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1111/jac.70048 · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology、Crop Yield and Soil Fertility、Genetics and Plant Breeding

ABSTRACT Wheat, a major staple crop, is critical for global food security. However, abiotic stresses, particularly heat stress, threaten crop productivity. With climate change predicted to increase temperatures by around 1.5°C by 2050, crop productivity could be severely affected. Given ongoing hunger‐related challenges and the growing global population, developing crop varieties with improved tolerance to abiotic stresses is essential. Plant breeders have long used the natural stress tolerance of crops, selectively breeding cultivars capable of thriving in adverse conditions. Molecular tools have further advanced this success, allowing for identifying and manipulating genes associated with abiotic stress tolerance. Combining traditional breeding methods and innovative biotechnological tools has shown promising results in developing stress‐resilient crop varieties. As technology continues to evolve, policy interventions may become more affordable, enabling precise responses to the challenges posed by climate change. Wheat's capacity to withstand heat stress is influenced by both phylogenetic and environmental factors, as revealed by quantitative trait locus mapping and genome‐wide association studies. Recently, omics technologies—such as genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics, phenomics, and ionomics—have provided valuable insights into the complex interactions between proteins, metabolites, and genes that govern the wheat phenotype. These approaches, supported b...