Combined heat and water stress leads to local xylem failure and tissue damage in pyrethrum flowers.

ABSTRACT: Flowers are critical for angiosperm reproduction and the production of food, fiber, and pharmaceuticals, yet for unknown reasons, they appear particularly sensitive to combined heat and drought stress. A possible explanation for this may be the co-occurrence of leaky cuticles in flower petals and a vascular system that has a low capacity to supply water and is prone to failure under water stress. These characteristics may render reproductive structures more susceptible than leaves to runaway cavitation-an uncontrolled feedback cycle between rising water stress and declining water transport efficiency that can rapidly lead to lethal tissue desiccation. We provide modeling and empirical evidence to demonstrate that flower damage in the perennial crop pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium), in

SUBMITTER: Carins-Murphy MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10469517 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature