GABA and Heat Stress

Climate change and allied adverse factors such as abiotic and biotic stresses affect plant growth and development, as well as agricultural sustainability. Abiotic and biotic stresses affect various physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes of the plants, resulting in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are in use to transmit cellular signaling information in response to the varying conditions. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a ubiquitous, four‑carbon, nonprotein amino acid, acts as a signaling molecule and is present in almost all organisms. GABA is a key regulatory metabolite for primary and secondary pathways, and GABA shunt provides a source for carbon skeletons and energy in biosynthetic pathways. GABA-induced heat tolerance mechanism was directly associated with phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, heat shock factors, and upregulation of many genes. Many transporter proteins are involved in the GABA transport. At elevated temperature, GABA acting as a plant growth regulator induces heat tolerance through modification of morphological, physiological, transcriptional, and posttranscriptional regulation. The present study summarizes that GABA is an effective tool and provides resistance against heat stress in plants.