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Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants in 2024
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Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants in 2024

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 4220

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ilektra Sperdouli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, HAO-Demeter, Thermi, Greece
Interests: plant responses to abiotic stress; photoprotective and antioxidative mechanisms to abiotic stress; photosynthesis; secondary metabolites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The current climate change scenario is accelerating degradation, desertification, and salinization. These are destructive processes negatively impacting arable lands and food production and are of particular importance considering that the world population is markedly increasing. This seems to lead to floods and decreasing water quality, but also to a decrease in the availability of water resources in some regions. More than ever, drought is a major threat to agriculture worldwide.

This issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences journal will focus on recent advances in mechanisms involved in drought tolerance in crop plants, with special attention paid to the role of the root tissue, shoot–root interactions, and photosynthetic function. In addition to drought, it will consider other abiotic stresses involving water deficits, like soil salinization, at the cell level and their interaction with drought.

Dr. Ilektra Sperdouli
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • root physiology
  • drought tolerance
  • photosynthesis
  • water deficit stress
  • shoot–root interaction
  • salinity
  • crop plants

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 13408 KiB  
Article
Functional Characterization of the 14-3-3 Gene Family in Alfalfa and the Role of MsGRF2 in Drought Response Mechanisms
by Lu Chai, Yuxuan Liu, Jiuding Sun, Xinhang Duan, Mei Yang, Kailin Qian and Pan Zhang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(22), 12304; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252212304 - 16 Nov 2024
Viewed by 481
Abstract
Drought stress affects crop growth and development, significantly reducing crop yield and quality. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), the most widely cultivated forage crop, is particularly susceptible to drought. The general regulatory factor (GRF) protein 14-3-3, a highly conserved family in plants, specifically [...] Read more.
Drought stress affects crop growth and development, significantly reducing crop yield and quality. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), the most widely cultivated forage crop, is particularly susceptible to drought. The general regulatory factor (GRF) protein 14-3-3, a highly conserved family in plants, specifically recognizes and binds to phosphoserine residues in target proteins, regulating both plant development and responses to environmental stressors. In this study, 66 alfalfa 14-3-3 proteins were identified, and the full-length MsGRF2 gene was cloned and functionally analyzed. The expression of MsGRF2 was highest in alfalfa inflorescences and lowest in roots. Transgenic tobacco overexpressing MsGRF2 exhibited increased tolerance to low temperature and drought stress, evidenced by physiological indicators including low levels of active oxygen species and increased activity of antioxidant enzymes and osmoregulatory substances. Under drought stress conditions, compared to wild-type plants, MsGRF2-overexpressing tobacco plants exhibited significantly increased expression of drought stress-related genes ERD10B and TIP, while the expression of BRI1, Cu/Zn-SOD, ERF2, and KC1 was significantly reduced. Together, these results provide new insights into the roles of the 14-3-3 protein MsGRF2 in plant drought response mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants in 2024)
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15 pages, 2025 KiB  
Article
Metabolic and Transcriptional Analysis Reveals Flavonoid Involvement in the Drought Stress Response of Mulberry Leaves
by Guo Chen, Dong Li, Pei Yao, Fengyao Chen, Jianglian Yuan, Bi Ma, Zhen Yang, Biyue Ding and Ningjia He
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(13), 7417; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25137417 - 6 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1068
Abstract
Abiotic stress, especially drought stress, poses a significant threat to terrestrial plant growth, development, and productivity. Although mulberry has great genetic diversity and extensive stress-tolerant traits in agroforestry systems, only a few reports offer preliminary insight into the biochemical responses of mulberry leaves [...] Read more.
Abiotic stress, especially drought stress, poses a significant threat to terrestrial plant growth, development, and productivity. Although mulberry has great genetic diversity and extensive stress-tolerant traits in agroforestry systems, only a few reports offer preliminary insight into the biochemical responses of mulberry leaves under drought conditions. In this study, we performed a comparative metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis on the “drooping mulberry” (Morus alba var. pendula Dippel) under PEG-6000-simulated drought stress. Our research revealed that drought stress significantly enhanced flavonoid accumulation and upregulated the expression of phenylpropanoid biosynthetic genes. Furthermore, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were elevated. In vitro enzyme assays and fermentation tests indicated the involvement of flavonol synthase/flavanone 3-hydroxylase (XM_010098126.2) and anthocyanidin 3-O-glucosyltransferase 5 (XM_010101521.2) in the biosynthesis of flavonol aglycones and glycosides, respectively. The recombinant MaF3GT5 protein was found to recognize kaempferol, quercetin, and UDP-glucose as substrates but not 3-/7-O-glucosylated flavonols and UDP-rhamnose. MaF3GT5 is capable of forming 3-O- and 7-O-monoglucoside, but not di-O-glucosides, from kaempferol. This implies its role as a flavonol 3, 7-O-glucosyltransferase. The findings from this study provided insights into the biosynthesis of flavonoids and could have substantial implications for the future diversified utilization of mulberry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants in 2024)
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18 pages, 6716 KiB  
Article
Modulation of Photosystem II Function in Celery via Foliar-Applied Salicylic Acid during Gradual Water Deficit Stress
by Michael Moustakas, Emmanuel Panteris, Julietta Moustaka, Tuğba Aydın, Gülriz Bayçu and Ilektra Sperdouli
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(12), 6721; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25126721 - 18 Jun 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 950
Abstract
Water deficit is the major stress factor magnified by climate change that causes the most reductions in plant productivity. Knowledge of photosystem II (PSII) response mechanisms underlying crop vulnerability to drought is critical to better understanding the consequences of climate change on crop [...] Read more.
Water deficit is the major stress factor magnified by climate change that causes the most reductions in plant productivity. Knowledge of photosystem II (PSII) response mechanisms underlying crop vulnerability to drought is critical to better understanding the consequences of climate change on crop plants. Salicylic acid (SA) application under drought stress may stimulate PSII function, although the exact mechanism remains essentially unclear. To reveal the PSII response mechanism of celery plants sprayed with water (WA) or SA, we employed chlorophyll fluorescence imaging analysis at 48 h, 96 h, and 192 h after watering. The results showed that up to 96 h after watering, the stroma lamellae of SA-sprayed leaves appeared dilated, and the efficiency of PSII declined, compared to WA-sprayed plants, which displayed a better PSII function. However, 192 h after watering, the stroma lamellae of SA-sprayed leaves was restored, while SA boosted chlorophyll synthesis, and by ameliorating the osmotic potential of celery plants, it resulted in higher relative leaf water content compared to WA-sprayed plants. SA, by acting as an antioxidant under drought stress, suppressed phototoxicity, thereby offering PSII photoprotection, together with enhanced effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (ΦPSII) and decreased quantity of singlet oxygen (1O2) generation compared to WA-sprayed plants. The PSII photoprotection mechanism induced by SA under drought stress was triggered by non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), which is a strategy to protect the chloroplast from photo-oxidative damage by dissipating the excess light energy as heat. This photoprotective mechanism, triggered by NPQ under drought stress, was adequate in keeping, especially in high-light conditions, an equal fraction of open PSII reaction centers (qp) as of non-stress conditions. Thus, under water deficit stress, SA activates a regulatory network of stress and light energy partitioning signaling that can mitigate, to an extent, the water deficit stress on PSII functioning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants in 2024)
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19 pages, 4793 KiB  
Article
Mechanistic Insights on Salicylic Acid-Induced Enhancement of Photosystem II Function in Basil Plants under Non-Stress or Mild Drought Stress
by Ilektra Sperdouli, Emmanuel Panteris, Julietta Moustaka, Tuğba Aydın, Gülriz Bayçu and Michael Moustakas
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(11), 5728; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25115728 - 24 May 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1045
Abstract
Photosystem II (PSII) functions were investigated in basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) plants sprayed with 1 mM salicylic acid (SA) under non-stress (NS) or mild drought-stress (MiDS) conditions. Under MiDS, SA-sprayed leaves retained significantly higher (+36%) chlorophyll content compared to NS, SA-sprayed leaves. [...] Read more.
Photosystem II (PSII) functions were investigated in basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) plants sprayed with 1 mM salicylic acid (SA) under non-stress (NS) or mild drought-stress (MiDS) conditions. Under MiDS, SA-sprayed leaves retained significantly higher (+36%) chlorophyll content compared to NS, SA-sprayed leaves. PSII efficiency in SA-sprayed leaves under NS conditions, evaluated at both low light (LL, 200 μmol photons m−2 s−1) and high light (HL, 900 μmol photons m−2 s−1), increased significantly with a parallel significant decrease in the excitation pressure at PSII (1-qL) and the excess excitation energy (EXC). This enhancement of PSII efficiency under NS conditions was induced by the mechanism of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) that reduced singlet oxygen (1O2) production, as indicated by the reduced quantum yield of non-regulated energy loss in PSII (ΦNO). Under MiDS, the thylakoid structure of water-sprayed leaves appeared slightly dilated, and the efficiency of PSII declined, compared to NS conditions. In contrast, the thylakoid structure of SA-sprayed leaves did not change under MiDS, while PSII functionality was retained, similar to NS plants at HL. This was due to the photoprotective heat dissipation by NPQ, which was sufficient to retain the same percentage of open PSII reaction centers (qp), as in NS conditions and HL. We suggest that the redox status of the plastoquinone pool (qp) under MiDS and HL initiated the acclimation response to MiDS in SA-sprayed leaves, which retained the same electron transport rate (ETR) with control plants. Foliar spray of SA could be considered as a method to improve PSII efficiency in basil plants under NS conditions, at both LL and HL, while under MiDS and HL conditions, basil plants could retain PSII efficiency similar to control plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants in 2024)
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