Drought Responses and Adaptation Mechanisms in Plants

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 1706

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Section of Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Interests: field of crop sciences; physiology; drought and abiotic stress; cassava and maize; environmental stresses; transcriptome responses

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Guest Editor
CEFE, Université Montpellier, INRAE, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, F-34090 Montpellier, France
Interests: drought; climate change; ecophysiology; plant ecology; environmental stresses

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Guest Editor
Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Interests: plant ecophysiology; stress physiology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Drought is a significant environmental stressor that affects plant growth and crop productivity,  posing significant challenges to global agriculture, impacting crop yield and food security. Therefore, understanding plant responses to drought and identifying adaptive strategies is crucial.

This Special Issue focuses on papers discussing plant responses to drought stress at different levels, including physiological, biochemical and molecular levels, as well as their molecular mechanisms. We encourage researchers to submit their latest findings on identifying drought-resistant traits, such as root architecture, stomatal regulation and water uptake mechanisms, and the genetic background of these traits. We welcome review and research articles that provide insights into new discoveries, theories and experimental results that contribute to a better understanding of drought responses and adaptation mechanisms in plants. Join us in this important discussion on the future of plant ecology and agriculture.

We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions and working together to address the pressing challenges of drought resilience in plants.

Prof. Dr. Tim L. Setter
Dr. Florence Volaire
Prof. Dr. William L. Bauerle
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plants
  • drought stress
  • drought resilience
  • ecophysiology
  • ecology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 5741 KiB  
Article
The Receptor Kinases DRUS1 and DRUS2 Behave Distinctly in Osmotic Stress Tolerance by Modulating the Root System Architecture via Auxin Signaling
by Ammara Latif, Chen-Guang Yang, Lan-Xin Zhang, Xin-Yu Yang, Xin-Ye Liu, Lian-Feng Ai, Ali Noman, Cui-Xia Pu and Ying Sun
Plants 2024, 13(6), 860; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13060860 - 16 Mar 2024
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Abstract
Receptor kinases DRUS1 (Dwarf and Runtish Spikelet1) and DRUS2 are orthologues of the renowned Arabidopsis thaliana gene FERONIA, which play redundant roles in rice growth and development. Whether the two duplicated genes perform distinct functions in response to environmental stress [...] Read more.
Receptor kinases DRUS1 (Dwarf and Runtish Spikelet1) and DRUS2 are orthologues of the renowned Arabidopsis thaliana gene FERONIA, which play redundant roles in rice growth and development. Whether the two duplicated genes perform distinct functions in response to environmental stress is largely unknown. Here, we found that osmotic stress (OS) and ABA increased DRUS1 expression while decreasing DRUS2. When subjected to osmotic stress, the increased DRUS1 in drus2 mutants suppresses the OsIAA repressors, resulting in a robust root system with an increased number of adventitious and lateral roots as well as elongated primary, adventitious, and lateral roots, conferring OS tolerance. In contrast, the decreased DRUS2 in drus1-1 mutants are not sufficient to suppress OsIAA repressors, leading to a feeble root system with fewer adventitious and lateral roots and hindering seminal root growth, rendering OS intolerance. All these findings offer valuable insights into the biological significance of the duplication of two homologous genes in rice, wherein, if one is impaired, the other one is able to continue auxin-signaling-mediated root growth and development to favor resilience to environmental stress, such as water shortage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drought Responses and Adaptation Mechanisms in Plants)
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Review

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23 pages, 1291 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Studies of Genomic DNA Methylation and Its Involvement in Regulating Drought Stress Response in Crops
by Youfang Fan, Chao Sun, Kan Yan, Pengcheng Li, Ingo Hein, Eleanor M. Gilroy, Philip Kear, Zhenzhen Bi, Panfeng Yao, Zhen Liu, Yuhui Liu and Jiangping Bai
Plants 2024, 13(10), 1400; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13101400 - 17 May 2024
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Abstract
As global arid conditions worsen and groundwater resources diminish, drought stress has emerged as a critical impediment to plant growth and development globally, notably causing declines in crop yields and even the extinction of certain cultivated species. Numerous studies on drought resistance have [...] Read more.
As global arid conditions worsen and groundwater resources diminish, drought stress has emerged as a critical impediment to plant growth and development globally, notably causing declines in crop yields and even the extinction of certain cultivated species. Numerous studies on drought resistance have demonstrated that DNA methylation dynamically interacts with plant responses to drought stress by modulating gene expression and developmental processes. However, the precise mechanisms underlying these interactions remain elusive. This article consolidates the latest research on the role of DNA methylation in plant responses to drought stress across various species, focusing on methods of methylation detection, mechanisms of methylation pattern alteration (including DNA de novo methylation, DNA maintenance methylation, and DNA demethylation), and overall responses to drought conditions. While many studies have observed significant shifts in genome-wide or gene promoter methylation levels in drought-stressed plants, the identification of specific genes and pathways involved remains limited. This review aims to furnish a reference for detailed research into plant responses to drought stress through epigenetic approaches, striving to identify drought resistance genes regulated by DNA methylation, specific signaling pathways, and their molecular mechanisms of action. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drought Responses and Adaptation Mechanisms in Plants)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Anatomical responses of two species to controlled water restriction.

Peña-Rojas et al

Summary: Quillaja saponaria (quillay) and Cryptocarya alba (peumo) are two sclerophyllous tree species from the Mediterranean forests of Chile. 

A study was conducted to determine the leaf anatomical response (cuticle thickness, leaf thickness and cell density of parenchyma tissues) of both species to water deficit. Quillay and peumo showed leaf phenotypic plasticity. Peumo increased cuticle thickness and decreased leaf and cellular tissue thickness; whereas juvenile quillay leaves increased leaf and cuticle thickness and decreased parenchyma tissue density, compared to unstressed plants.

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