Involvement of membrane transporters in drought tolerance

Abstract Drought is one of the acute problems for crops with respect to crop productivity as per the concerned present scenario. Nowadays, this problem is gaining more attention due to the diverse and costly effects at economic levels. For a crop to adapt to drought conditions, several changes must occur in it to survive. High proline and glycine betaine content in drought-exposed crops are some of the changes that are commonly seen. Involvement of membrane transporters also helps in providing tolerance toward drought condition in plants. Understanding the mechanism of membrane transporters in plants as adaptive strategies under drought conditions is important. Researchers are now focusing on developing drought-tolerant crops for better recovery, higher yield, and production. The knowledge and better understanding of the molecular nature of the adaptive changes under drought conditions not only helps to improve the production but also paves the way to new ideas for enhanced recovery, yield, and production. The membrane transport system of plants plays an important role in the response to conditions when water is scarce. Membrane transporters have been used in staple crops for enhancing nutrient content and improving production. In this chapter, we have focused on different types of membrane transporters involved in drought stress, their role in general, and their importance in drought conditions in plants.