Physiological, biochemical and molecular basis of thermo tolerance in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

High temperature stress causes irreversible damage to the plant system. The optimum temperature required for different plants vary for the cardinal points as it is associated with the exposure time, age of the plant, growing conditions, previous history and other externalities. Heat stress during podding and seed filling stage is a major constraint in chickpea of cooler regions. The negative effects of high temperature stress can be overcome by designing crop genotypes with increased thermotolerance. The sensitive effect conferred by heat stress in plants results in negative mode of photosynthesis, nutrient and water use efficiency, membrane stability and assimilate proportioning. Chickpea plants occupy frequent biochemical changes for their growth and development during high temperature conditions. Triggering the constitutive expression of heat- specific proteins during stress situations has been identified to enhance thermotolerance in chickpea. This article highlights to review the key findings on heat stress responses of chickpea plants at physiological, biochemical and molecular levels.