ABSTRACT
Increasing tropospheric ozone concentrations are threatening global crop production as they interfere with different biochemical and physiological processes, and ultimately affect growth, yields and production. Therefore, it becomes essential to explore the role of different enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in plants’ defense systems in response to ozone. Several enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, namely superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbic acid, glutathione and carotenoid, possess an essential role in ozone stress signaling cascade. Molecular breeding or transgenic approaches can play a vital role to develop ozone tolerant or resistant crop varieties by utilizing these antioxidant systems. This chapter highlights the important role of the above-mentioned enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, and their possible capacity to minimize the harmful effects of ozone to reduce the ozone-induced yield gap of different crop plants.
