ABSTRACT
Plants growing in natural environments encounter various abiotic stresses during all parts of their growthanddevelopment.Abioticstressessuchashightemperature,lowtemperature,highlight (photooxidative),drought,andsaltstressesaretheprimarycausesofcropyieldandqualityreductions.Hightemperatureorheatstresscanleadtoretardationingrowthanddevelopment,andeven death.Itcausesproteindysfunction/damageandaltersthecellularproteome.Theycanleadto accumulation of toxic protein aggregates. Plants as well as other organisms respond to heat stress by inducingheatshockproteins(Hsps)forself-defense.Hspsareubiquitous,highlyconservedproteins in living organisms that play a role for the maintenance of protein homeostasis in cells.
