Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Biotechnology)

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The interactive effects of salt stress and Fusarium proliferatum infection on maize seedlings
(University of the Western Cape, 2022) Badiwe, Mihlali; Klein, Ashwil
Field crops are often subjected to multiple co-occurring stress factors, and they evolved specific mechanisms to counteract the effects of these stress factors. Most studies explore the fundamental molecular mechanisms involved in plant abiotic and biotic stress interactions. These look at plant responses to individual stressors and not combinations. Studying the effects of individual stress responses is not an adequate approach as plants in nature are challenged by both abiotic and biotic stress factors occurring simultaneously. Modern studies have shown that plants possess the ability to tolerate co-occurring abiotic and biotic stresses through the utilization of tailored responses, which are impossible to understand by direct extrapolation from results of studies examining individual stress factors.