Droughts cause severe crop losses worldwide and climate change is projected to increase their prevalence in the future. Similar to the situation for many crops, the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Ath) is considered drought-sensitive, whereas, as we demonstrate, its close relatives Arabidopsis lyrata (Aly) and Eutrema salsugineum (Esa) are drought-resistant. To understand the molecular basis for this plasticity we conducted a deep phenotypic, biochemical and transcriptomic comparison using developmentally matched plants. We demonstrate that Aly responds most sensitively to decreasing water availability with early growth reduction, metabolic adaptations and signaling network rewiring. By contrast, Esa is in a constantly prepared mode as evidenced by high basal proline levels, ABA signaling transcripts and late growth responses. The stress-sensitive Ath responds later than Aly and earlier than Esa, although its responses tend to be more extreme. All species detect water scarcity with similar sensitivity; response differences are encoded in downstream signaling and response networks. Moreover, several signaling genes expressed at higher basal levels in both Aly and Esa have been shown to increase water-use efficiency and drought resistance when overexpressed in Ath. Our data demonstrate contrasting strategies of closely related Brassicaceae to achieve drought resistance.
1.Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen HMGU, Inst Network Biol INET, D-85764 Munich, Germany 2.Gyeongsang Natl Univ, Div Life Sci, Jinju 52828, South Korea 3.Univ Ghent, Dept Plant Biotechnol & Bioinformat, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium 4.VIB, VIB UGent Ctr Plant Syst Biol, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium 5.Univ Bordeaux, Biol Fruit & Pathol, INRA, UMR 1332, F-33882 Villenave Dornon, France 6.LMU Munchen, Microbe Host Interact, D-80539 Munich, Germany
Recommended Citation:
Marin-de la Rosa, Nora,Lin, Chung-Wen,Kang, Yang Jae,et al. Drought resistance is mediated by divergent strategies in closely related Brassicaceae[J]. NEW PHYTOLOGIST,2019-01-01,223(2):783-797