The effects of water limitation will likely worsen in the coming decades due to climate change and the growing scarcity of fresh water available for irrigation, mostly caused by urbanization and the depletion of aquifers, which are currently supplying water to grow food for at least 400 million people in India and China ( Jury and Vaux, 2005 Pennisi, 2008). A recent example is the extreme drought that affected 80% of cultivated land in the United States in 2012 and reduced yields of maize ( Zea mays) by 27.5% and of soybean ( Glycine max) by 10%, causing enormous economic damage ( USDA, 2013). For cereal crops, drought is the most important abiotic stress component reducing yield ( Araus et al., 2002). Water availability, which can be constrained by drought, salinity, or freezing, is one of the major factors limiting plant growth and development in agricultural settings ( Boyer, 1982). Therefore, complex mechanisms have evolved to accurately monitor the environment and very dynamically reprogram metabolism and growth. Due to their sessile lifestyle, plants are continuously exposed to changing environmental conditions that could potentially threaten survival.
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