Proteomic studies of thermotolerant strain of trichoderma spp

Abstract

The rate of global warming is expected to continue increasing if no mitigation efforts take place to reduce the carbon intensity of the world economy and the consequent emission of green-house gases (Raupachet al., 2007). Agricultural production and thus global food security, is directly affected by global warming (Fischer et al., 2005; Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2007; Ainsworth and Ort, 2007). Temperature controls the rate of plant metabolic processes that ultimately influence the production of biomass fruits and grains (Hay and Walker, 1989). By 2080, most cropping areas in the world are likely to be exposed to record average air temperatures (Battisti and Naylor, 2009). High average seasonal temperatures can increase the risk of drought, limit photosynthesis rates and reduce light inception by accelerating phonological development (Tubielloet al., 2007). Previous global food assessments have shown that these negative effects are particularly exacerbated in tropical regions (IPCC, 2007a; Fischer et al., 2005). Heat stress damage is particularly severe when high temperatures occur concomitantly with critical crop developmental stages, particularly the reproductive period. Because of this, the fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has acknowledged the heat stress as an important threat to global food supply (IPCC, 2007).