Nasib ur Rahman, Yu-pei Wang, Jia-le Ding , Qin-zheng Hou
Plants develop ecological specialization largely as a result of local adaptation to various conditions. Local adaptation is considered to result in expensive fitness changes that lead to maladaptation to new settings. Recent research suggests, however, that such adaptations are not ubiquitous. Furthermore, the molecular processes underlying fitness changes linked with adaptation are presently unknown. In order to discover probable processes driving local adaptation and ecological specialization, the literature on stress responses in plants was examined. Drought, extreme heat and cold, floods, herbivores, and disease stressors were also studied. Recent advancements in local adaptation and plant molecular biology literature were used to summarise the findings. During the process, processes that may induce fitness changes were discovered, as well as circumstances in which changes aren't a required result of adaptation. Molecular processes should be clearly included in investigations of local adaptation in the future.
