Current knowledge of bermudagrass responses to abiotic stresses

Abstract

Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) is a common turfgrass found in parks, landscapes, sports fields, and golf courses. It is also grown as a forage crop for animal production in many countries. Consequently, bermudagrass has significant ecological, environmental, and economic importance. Like many other food crops, bermudagrass production also faces challenges from various abiotic and biotic stresses. In this review we will focus on abiotic stresses and their impacts on turfgrass quality and yield. Among the abiotic stresses, drought, salinity and cold stress are known to be the most damaging stresses that can directly affect the production of turfgrass worldwide. In this review, we also discuss the impacts of nutrient supply, cadmium, waterlogging, shade and wear stresses on bermudagrass growth and development. Detailed discussions on abiotic stress effects on bermudagrass morphology, physiology, and gene expressions should benefit our current understanding on molecular mechanisms controlling bermudagrass tolerance against various abiotic stresses. We believe that the rapid development of transcriptomics and proteomics, as well as bermudagrass stable transformation technologies will promote the production of new bermudagrass cultivars with desirable tolerance against abiotic stresses.