Project description:Adapting agriculture to climate change is driving the need for the selection and breeding of drought-tolerant crops. The aim of this study was to identify key drought tolerance traits and determine the sequence of their water potential thresholds across three grapevine cultivars with contrasting water use behaviors, Grenache, Syrah, and Semillon. We quantified differences in water use between cultivars and combined this with the determination of other leaf-level traits (e.g. leaf turgor loss point, π TLP), leaf vulnerability to embolism (P50), and the hydraulic safety margin (HSM P50). Semillon exhibited the highest maximum transpiration (Emax), and lowest sensitivity of canopy stomatal conductance (Gc) to vapor pressure deficit (VPD), followed by Syrah and Grenache. Increasing Emax was correlated with more negative water potential at which stomata close (Pgs90), π TLP, and P50, suggesting that increasing water use is associated with hydraulic traits allowing gas exchange under more negative water potentials. Nevertheless, all the cultivars closed their stomata prior to leaf embolism formation. Modeling simulations demonstrated that despite a narrower HSM, Grenache takes longer to reach thresholds of hydraulic failure due to its conservative water use. This study demonstrates that the relationships between leaf hydraulic traits are complex and interactive, stressing the importance of integrating multiple traits in characterizing drought tolerance.
Project description:The understanding of black tea quality and percent relative water content (%RWC) traits in tea (Camellia sinensis) by a quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach can be useful in elucidation and identification of candidate genes underlying the QTL which has remained to be difficult. The objective of the study was to identify putative QTL controlling black tea quality and percent relative water traits in two tea populations and their F1 progeny. A total of 1,421 DArTseq markers derived from the linkage map identified 53 DArTseq markers to be linked to black tea quality and %RWC. All 53 DArTseq markers with unique best hits were identified in the tea genome. A total of 5,592 unigenes were assigned gene ontology (GO) terms, 56% comprised biological processes, cellular component (29%) and molecular functions (15%), respectively. A total of 84 unigenes in 15 LGs were assigned to 25 different Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database pathways based on categories of secondary metabolite biosynthesis. The three major enzymes identified were transferases (38.9%), hydrolases (29%) and oxidoreductases (18.3%). The putative candidate proteins identified were involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, alkaloid biosynthesis, ATPase family proteins related to abiotic/biotic stress response. The functional annotation of putative QTL identified in this current study will shed more light on the proteins associated with caffeine and catechins biosynthesis and % RWC. This study may help breeders in selection of parents with desirable DArTseq markers for development of new tea cultivars with desirable traits.
Project description:Glycine max NAC81 (GmNAC81) is a downstream effector of the DCD/NRP-mediated cell death signaling, which interacts with GmNAC30 to fully induce the caspase 1-like vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE) expression, the executioner of the cell death program. GmNAC81 has been previously shown to positively modulate leaf senescence via the NRP/GmNAC81/VPE signaling module. Here, we examined the transcriptome induced by GmNAC81 overexpression and leaf senescence and showed that GmNAC81 further modulates leaf senescence by regulating an extensive repertoire of functionally characterized senescence-associated genes (SAGs). Because the NRP/GmNAC81/VPE signaling circuit also relays stress-induced cell death signals, we examined the effect of GmNAC81 overexpression in drought responses. Enhanced GmNAC81 expression in the transgenic lines increased sensitivity to water deprivation. Under progressive drought, the GmNAC81-overexpressing lines displayed severe leaf wilting, a larger and faster decline in leaf Ψw, relative water content (RWC), photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate, in addition to higher Ci/Ca and lower Fm/Fv ratios compared to the BR16 control line. Collectively, these results indicate that the photosynthetic activity and apparatus were more affected by drought in the transgenic lines. Consistent with hypersensitivity to drought, chlorophyll loss, and lipid peroxidation were higher in the GmNAC81-overexpressing lines than in BR16 under dehydration. In addition to inducing VPE expression, GmNAC81 overexpression uncovered the regulation of typical drought-responsive genes. In particular, key regulators and effectors of ABA signaling were suppressed by GmNAC81 overexpression. These results suggest that GmNAC81 may negatively control drought tolerance not only via VPE activation but also via suppression of ABA signaling.
Project description:Background and aimsLiving root tissues significantly constrain plant water uptake under drought, but we lack functional traits to feasibly screen diverse plants for variation in the drought responses of these tissues. Water stress causes roots to lose volume and turgor, which are crucial to root structure, hydraulics and growth. Thus, we hypothesized that root pressure-volume (p-v) curve traits, which quantify the effects of water potential on bulk root turgor and volume, would capture differences in rootstock drought tolerance.MethodsWe used a greenhouse experiment to evaluate relationships between root p-v curve traits and gas exchange, whole-plant hydraulic conductance and biomass under drought for eight grapevine rootstocks that varied widely in drought performance in field trials (101-14, 110R, 420A, 5C, 140-Ru, 1103P, Ramsey and Riparia Gloire), grafted to the same scion variety (Vitis vinifera 'Chardonnay').Key resultsThe traits varied significantly across rootstocks, and droughted vines significantly reduced root turgor loss point (πtlp), osmotic potential at full hydration (πo) and capacitance (C), indicating that roots became less susceptible to turgor loss and volumetric shrinkage. Rootstocks that retained a greater root volume (i.e. a lower C) also maintained more gas exchange under drought. The rootstocks that previous field trials have classified as drought tolerant exhibited significantly lower πtlp, πo and C values in well-watered conditions, but significantly higher πo and πtlp values under water stress, than the varieties classified as drought sensitive.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that acclimation in root p-v curve traits improves gas exchange in persistently dry conditions, potentially through impacts on root hydraulics or root to shoot chemical signalling. However, retaining turgor and volume in previously unstressed roots, as these roots deplete wet soil to moderately negative water potentials, could be more important to drought performance in the deep, highly heterogenous rooting zones which grapevines develop under field conditions.
Project description:Ocimum leaves are highly enriched in antioxidant components. Thus, its leaf extract, if applied in plants, is believed to efficiently scavenge ROS, thereby preventing oxidative damage under drought stress. Thus, the present study was performed in kharif 2013 and rabi 2014 season to evaluate the effect of aqueous leaf extract of Ocimum sanctum against drought stress in 2 rice genotype under glass house conditions. Here we show that various morpho- physiological (chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf rolling score, leaf tip burn, number of senesced leaves and total dry matter) and biochemical parameters (proline, malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase content) were amended by Ocimum treatment in both the seasons. Application of Ocimum extract increased expression of dehydrin genes, while reducing expression of aquaporin genes in drought stressed rice plant. Thus, application of Ocimum leaf extract under drought stress can be suggested as a promising strategy to mitigate drought stress in economical, accessible and ecofriendly manner.
Project description:Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an important cash crop cultivated under rain-fed conditions where it contributes a significant proportion of Ethiopia's foreign exchange earnings. However, its productivity is constrained by drought stress. The present study aimed to evaluate the agromorphological and yield performance of sesame varieties and to identify drought tolerant varieties using drought tolerance indices. The sesame varieties were evaluated under well-watered (WW) and water-stressed (WS) field conditions with a factorial design laid down in randomized complete block design in three replications. The results revealed the presence of a significant variation in agromorphological traits and drought tolerance indices due to water levels, varieties and their interactive effect. On average, a 21.8, 49.6, 48.4, 47.9 and 21.7% reduction was recorded in plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf width and relative growth rate (RGR), respectively under WS condition. Similarly, a significant reduction was found in shoot biomass, root biomass, biological yield, number of pods per plant and seed yield under WS condition. These traits showed an average reduction of 52.2, 72.5, 54.0, 51.9 and 52.8%, respectively compared to WW condition. The highest yield reduction was recorded from wollega under WS condition, while the lowest was from abasena. Wollega variety produced the highest seed yield (kg/ha) under WW condition, while gondar-1 and humera-1 had the highest yield in kg/ha under WS condition. Under both water levels, abasena produced the lowest yield (kg/ha). Moreover, gondar-1 and humera-1 varieties had a comparatively higher values of stress tolerance index (STI), yield stress score index (YSSI), yield potential score index (YPSI), geometric mean productivity (GMP) and mean productivity (MP) that are significantly and positively correlated with yield under WS, indicating higher yield performance under water stress. The biplot analysis clustered the varieties as low yielding (abasena) and relatively above average performing varieties (humera-1, gondar-1 and wollega). According to the rank sum of all indices, humera-1 was identified as drought tolerant, while abasena as the most susceptible and low yielding varieties. Thus, humera-1 followed by gondar-1 were found to be drought tolerant and high yielding varieties. However, further studies focusing on drought tolerance mechanisms of the varieties are recommended.
Project description:BackgroundWild jujube trees in Ningxia, China, demonstrate exceptional drought tolerance. The identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with drought resistance and linked genes could significantly enhance molecular breeding efforts for this species. This study involved the measurement of nine drought resistance indicators were measured in 150 wild jujube trees from five regions in Ningxia. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were carried out using a range of mixed linear models to pinpoint SNP markers linked to drought resistance.ResultsThe coefficients of variation for the nine leaf traits in wild jujube trees ranged from 14.76 to 62.17%, with broad-sense heritability estimates falling between 0.84 and 0.99. Through GWAS analysis, a total of 12 significant SNPs and 162 potential genes associated with drought resistance were detected. This SNPs explained phenotypic variance ranging from 20.74 to 50.37%. Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation highlighted five crucial candidate genes‒ZjMYB44, ZjUCLOC, ZjDnaJ50, ZjUCHL22 and ZjHSFB‒linked to drought tolerance in wild jujube. These genes demonstrated a positive correlation with drought tolerance within the wild jujube population.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that these five genes likely play a pivotal role in conferring drought tolerance in wild jujubes. This study offers new insights to support the development of drought-resistant jujube varieties, thereby contributing to sustainable agricultural practices and bolstering food security in arid regions.
Project description:Drought, the most prominent threat to agricultural production worldwide, accelerates leaf senescence, leading to a decrease in canopy size, loss in photosynthesis and reduced yields. On the basis of the assumption that senescence is a type of cell death program that could be inappropriately activated during drought, we hypothesized that it may be possible to enhance drought tolerance by delaying drought-induced leaf senescence. We generated transgenic plants expressing an isopentenyltransferase gene driven by a stress- and maturation-induced promoter. Remarkably, the suppression of drought-induced leaf senescence resulted in outstanding drought tolerance as shown by, among other responses, vigorous growth after a long drought period that killed the control plants. The transgenic plants maintained high water contents and retained photosynthetic activity (albeit at a reduced level) during the drought. Moreover, the transgenic plants displayed minimal yield loss when watered with only 30% of the amount of water used under control conditions. The production of drought-tolerant crops able to grow under restricted water regimes without diminution of yield would minimize drought-related losses and ensure food production in water-limited lands.
Project description:Trait-based approaches are increasingly used to predict ecological consequences of climate change, yet seldom have solid links been established between plant traits and observed climate-driven community changes. Most analyses have focused on aboveground adult plant traits, but in warming and drying climates, root traits may be critical, and seedlings may be the vulnerable stage. Relationships of seedling and root traits to more commonly measured traits and ecological outcomes are poorly known. In an annual grassland where winter drought-induced seedling mortality is driving a long-term decline in native diversity, using a field experiment during the exceptionally dry winter of 2017-2018, we found that seedling mortality was higher and growth of seedlings and adults were lower in unwatered than watered sites. Mortality of unwatered seedlings was higher in species with shorter seedling roots, and also in species with the correlated traits of small seeds, high seedling specific leaf area (SLA), and tall seedlings. Adult traits varied along an axis from short-stature, high SLA and foliar N, and early flowering to the opposite values, and were only weakly correlated with seedling traits and seedling mortality. No evidence was found for adaptive plasticity, such as longer roots or lower SLA in unwatered plants. Among these species, constitutive variation in seedling root length explained most of the variation in survival of a highly vulnerable life stage under winter drought. Selective loss of species with high adult SLA, observed in this community and others under drought stress, may be the byproduct of other correlated traits.
Project description:Understanding how tropical trees will respond to extreme temperatures and drought is essential to predict how future increases in the severity, frequency and duration of extreme climatic events will affect tropical systems. In this study, we investigated leaf thermotolerance by quantifying the temperatures that resulted in a 50 % decrease in photosystem II function (T50) in experimentally grown saplings of 12 tree species from a seasonally dry tropical forest. We examined the relationship of thermotolerance with leaf functional traits and photosynthetic rates. Additionally, we tested how water limitation altered thermotolerance within species, and examined the relationship between thermotolerance and drought tolerance among species. Thermotolerance ranged from 44.5 to 48.1 °C in the least and most thermotolerant species, respectively. The observed variation in thermotolerance indicates that the upper limits of leaf function are critically close to maximum temperatures in this region, and that these species will be vulnerable to, and differentially affected by, future warming. Drought increased temperature tolerance, and species that were more drought tolerant were also more thermotolerant. Importantly, thermotolerance was positively related to the key leaf functional trait-leaf mass per area (LMA), and congruent with this, negatively related to photosynthetic rates. These results indicate that more productive species with lower LMA and higher photosynthetic rates may be more vulnerable to heat and drought stress, and more likely to be negatively affected by future increases in extreme climatic events.