Physiological and Molecular Approaches to Heat Tolerance Enhancement in Vegetables
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Heat stress has emerged as one of the most significant environmental constraints affecting vegetable production worldwide. Rising global temperatures adversely influence seed germination, vegetative growth, photosynthesis, flowering, fruit set, yield, and quality attributes of vegetable crops. The increasing frequency of heat waves has intensified the need for developing heat-resilient vegetable varieties through integrated physiological and molecular approaches. This review synthesizes current knowledge regarding the physiological mechanisms, molecular responses, and advanced breeding strategies employed to enhance heat tolerance in vegetables. The study evaluates plant responses to elevated temperatures, including oxidative stress regulation, photosynthetic adaptation, membrane stability, and hormonal signaling. Furthermore, molecular mechanisms involving stress-responsive genes, transcription factors, genomic selection, quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, and CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing are critically examined. The review highlights the integration of physiological screening with molecular breeding as an effective pathway for accelerating heat tolerance improvement. Findings suggest that combining conventional breeding approaches with genomic technologies offers substantial opportunities for developing climate-resilient vegetable cultivars capable of sustaining productivity under increasing thermal stress conditions.