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Biodiversity Conservation and Stress Biology of Plants in Arid Regions
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Biodiversity Conservation and Stress Biology of Plants in Arid Regions

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: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 9795

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Daoyuan Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Plant Gene Resources, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Interests: molecular biology of resistance; biodiversity conservation of desert plants
Dr. Huiliang Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Lab of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, CAS, Urumqi 830011, China
Interests: seed physiology and ecology; desert plants; reproductive ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Arid regions cover approximately one-third of the Earth’s land surface. Due to the harsh climate in arid regions, only some unusual plants can survive in such regions. Many of the plants are an essential food reserve, especially during droughts. Plants in arid regions are contentiously exposed to an extensive array of environmental stresses such as water-deficit conditions (drought), low-temperature (cold) stress, salt stress conditions, high-temperature (heat) stress, etc. The tolerance and susceptibility of plants under stress conditions are complex factors, and stresses may affect the multiple stages of plant development. Under the influence of abiotic stress, plants change their molecular and physiological fine tuning and try to cope to maintain a healthy state in the face of the molecular and physiological disturbance imposed by the stress conditions. In this disturbance, the maintenance of a healthy state involves gene expression under stress in the form of either structural or regulatory genes. Scientific research on plants in arid areas is necessary to obtain a deeper insight into their structure and physiology adaption strategies.

Despite the functional traits that play a fundamental role in plant persistence and ecosystem diversity in arid regions, our knowledge of physiology in response to various abiotic stresses remains limited. This Special Issue focuses on the biodiversity conservation of plants in arid areas and their responses to abiotic stress and aims to collate papers answering questions relating to the following: (1) plant diversity in arid areas in a changing environment, biodiversity conservation in the arid lands under climate change, etc.; (2) the ecological significance of the response of various plants to extreme environments in arid areas; and (3) the physiology and molecular observations of plant behavior in arid areas. We welcome original research papers, reviews, perspectives, opinions, and modeling approaches regarding the abovementioned.

Dr. Daoyuan Zhang
Dr. Huiliang Liu
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 in arid regions
  • desert plants
  • biodiversity conservation
  • plant diversity
  • ecological adaptability
  • physiological traits
  • molecular regulation mechanisms
  • arid land

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2730 KiB  
Article
Different Physiological Responses to Continuous Drought between Seedlings and Younger Individuals of Haloxylon ammodendron
by Lidan Chen, Minqing Li, Congjuan Li, Weihua Zheng and Ran Liu
Plants 2023, 12(21), 3683; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12213683 - 25 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 888
Abstract
Drought is an important environmental factor that influences physiological processes in plants; however, few studies have examined the physiological mechanisms underlying plants’ responses to continuous drought. In this study, the seedlings and younger individuals of Haloxylon ammodendron were experimentally planted in the southern [...] Read more.
Drought is an important environmental factor that influences physiological processes in plants; however, few studies have examined the physiological mechanisms underlying plants’ responses to continuous drought. In this study, the seedlings and younger individuals of Haloxylon ammodendron were experimentally planted in the southern part of the Gurbantunggut Desert. We measured their photosynthetic traits, functional traits and non-structural carbohydrate contents (NSCs) in order to assess the effects of continuous drought (at 15-day and 30-day drought points) on the plants’ physiological responses. The results showed that at the 15-day (15 d) drought point, the leaf light-saturated net photosynthetic rate (An) values of both the seedlings and the younger individuals were decreased (by −68.9% and −45.2%, respectively). The intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) of the seedlings was significantly lower than that of the control group (−52.2%), but there was no diffenrence of iWUE observed in younger individuals. At the 30-day (30 d) drought point, a decrease in the An (−129.8%) of the seedlings was induced via biochemical inhibition, with a lower potential maximum photochemical rate (Fv/Fm, 0.42) compared with the control group, while a decrease in the An (−52.3%) of the younger individuals was induced due to lower stomatal conductance (gs, −50.5%). Our results indicated that prolonged drought induced a greater risk of seedling mortality as the relatively limited ability of stomatal regulation may increase the possibility of massive embolism, resulting in hydraulic failure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity Conservation and Stress Biology of Plants in Arid Regions)
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16 pages, 12629 KiB  
Article
Establishment of an Efficient and Rapid Regeneration System for a Rare Shrubby Desert Legume Eremosparton songoricum
by Siqi Qiao, Pei Jin, Xiaojie Liu, Yuqing Liang, Ruirui Yang, Wenwan Bai, Daoyuan Zhang and Xiaoshuang Li
Plants 2023, 12(20), 3535; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12203535 - 11 Oct 2023
Viewed by 871
Abstract
Eremosparton songoricum (Litv.) Vass. is a rare and extremely drought-tolerant legume shrub that is distributed in Central Asia. E. songoricum naturally grows on bare sand and can tolerate multiple extreme environmental conditions. It is a valuable and important plant resource for desertification prevention [...] Read more.
Eremosparton songoricum (Litv.) Vass. is a rare and extremely drought-tolerant legume shrub that is distributed in Central Asia. E. songoricum naturally grows on bare sand and can tolerate multiple extreme environmental conditions. It is a valuable and important plant resource for desertification prevention and environmental protection, as well as a good material for the exploration of stress tolerance mechanisms and excellent tolerant gene mining. However, the regeneration system for E. songoricum has not yet been established, which markedly limits the conservation and utilization of this endangered and valuable desert legume. Assimilated branches derived from seedlings were cultured on several MS mediums supplemented with various concentrations of TDZ or 6-BA in different combinations with NAA. The results showed that the most efficient multiplication medium was MS medium supplemented with 0.4 mg/L 6-BA and 0.1 mg/L NAA. The most efficient rooting medium was WPM + 25 g/L sucrose. The highest survival rate (77.8%) of transplantation was achieved when the ratio of sand to vermiculite was 1:1. In addition, the optimal callus induction medium was MS + 30 g/L sucrose + 2 mg/L TDZ + 0.5 mg/L NAA in darkness. The E. songoricum callus treated with 100 mM NaCl and 300 mM mannitol on MS medium could be used in proper salt and drought stress treatments in subsequent gene function tests. A rapid and efficient regeneration system for E. songoricum that allowed regeneration within 3 months was developed. The protocol will contribute to the conservation and utilization of this rare and endangered desert stress-tolerant species and also provide a fundamental basis for gene functional analysis in E. songoricum. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity Conservation and Stress Biology of Plants in Arid Regions)
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13 pages, 4485 KiB  
Article
Effect of Soil Environment on Species Diversity of Desert Plant Communities
by Jie Sun, Nai’ang Wang and Zhenmin Niu
Plants 2023, 12(19), 3465; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12193465 - 2 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1297
Abstract
Desert ecosystems possess an astonishing biodiversity and are rich in endangered species. This study investigated characteristics of species diversity and soil environmental factors in three major deserts of China’s Alxa Plateau. The Alxa Desert included 183 plant species belonging to 109 genera and [...] Read more.
Desert ecosystems possess an astonishing biodiversity and are rich in endangered species. This study investigated characteristics of species diversity and soil environmental factors in three major deserts of China’s Alxa Plateau. The Alxa Desert included 183 plant species belonging to 109 genera and 35 families. The highest numbers of plant species belonged to the Compositae, Gramineae, and Chenopodiaceae families. The research area belongs to the semi-shrub and small semi-shrub deserts in temperate deserts. Species diversity was low, with the Shannon–Wiener index (H′) of shrub-herb = shrub > herb > tree. The Pielou evenness index (E) of shrub herb vegetation was the lowest, indicating more enriched species and fewer sparse species in the community, and that these types of vegetation had the characteristics of rich and obviously dominant species. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and correlations between the comprehensive plant community biodiversity index and soil factors indicated that soil-available phosphorus (NP), organic matter (SOM), and electrical conductivity (EC) had significant impacts on community species diversity. The herbaceous shrub community exhibited the highest H′, Simpson index (D), species richness index (S), soil moisture (SW), and soil nutrients. Planting Calligonum mongolicum, Ephedra membranacea, Artemisia annua, and Phragmites australis to form a typical desert shrub community for community diversity protection is recommended to effectively protect and restore desert ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity Conservation and Stress Biology of Plants in Arid Regions)
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22 pages, 7046 KiB  
Article
Molecular Mechanism of Response and Adaptation of Antioxidant Enzyme System to Salt Stress in Leaves of Gymnocarpos przewalskii
by Jianwei Qi, Yongzhong Luo, Haixia Huang, Songsong Lu, Fei Zhao, Zhuo Deng and Yingde Qiu
Plants 2023, 12(19), 3370; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12193370 - 25 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 912
Abstract
The antioxidant enzyme system is the main defense system responsible for maintaining cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis and normal plant growth and development after saline stress. In this study, we identified and characterized the members of the SOD, APX and CAT [...] Read more.
The antioxidant enzyme system is the main defense system responsible for maintaining cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis and normal plant growth and development after saline stress. In this study, we identified and characterized the members of the SOD, APX and CAT gene families of the antioxidant enzyme system in Gymnocarpos przewalskii, using plant physiology and molecular biology methods, and analyzed the pattern of enzyme activity in response to NaCl stress. It was found that seven, six and two genes of SOD, APX and CAT gene families, respectively, were expressed in the leaf tissue of G. przewalskii, in which most of the genes were significantly upregulated under NaCl stress, and the enzymatic activities were in accordance with the gene expression. Three positive selection sites in the GpCAT1 gene can increase the hydrophilicity of the GpCAT1 protein, increase the volume of the active site and increase the affinity for H2O2, thus improving the catalytic efficiency of GpCAT1. The results of the present study provide new insights for further investigations of the evolution and function of the SOD, APX and CAT gene families in G. przewalskii and their essential roles under salt stress, and the findings will be useful for revealing the molecular mechanism of salt tolerance and breeding of salt-tolerant plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity Conservation and Stress Biology of Plants in Arid Regions)
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12 pages, 1497 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Development of Polymorphic Microsatellite Markers and Genetic Diversity Analysis for the Halophyte Suaeda aralocaspica (Amaranthaceae)
by Wei Xu, Jiancheng Wang, Changyan Tian, Wei Shi and Lei Wang
Plants 2023, 12(9), 1865; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12091865 - 30 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1767
Abstract
Suaeda aralocaspica, which is an annual halophyte, grows in saline deserts in Central Asia with potential use in saline soil reclamation and salt tolerance breeding. Studying its genetic diversity is critical for effective conservation and breeding programs. In this study, we aimed [...] Read more.
Suaeda aralocaspica, which is an annual halophyte, grows in saline deserts in Central Asia with potential use in saline soil reclamation and salt tolerance breeding. Studying its genetic diversity is critical for effective conservation and breeding programs. In this study, we aimed to develop a set of polymorphic microsatellite markers to analyze the genetic diversity of S. aralocaspica. We identified 177,805 SSRs from the S. aralocaspica genome, with an average length of 19.49 bp, which were present at a density of 393.37 SSR/Mb. Trinucleotide repeats dominated (75.74%) different types of motifs, and the main motif was CAA/TTG (44.25%). We successfully developed 38 SSR markers that exhibited substantial polymorphism, displaying an average of 6.18 alleles with accompanying average polymorphism information content (PIC) value of 0.516. The markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity of 52 individuals collected from three populations of S. aralocaspica in Xinjiang, China. The results showed that the genetic diversity was moderate to high, with a mean expected heterozygosity (He) of 0.614, a mean Shannon’s information index (I) of 1.23, and a mean genetic differentiation index (Fst) of 0.263. The SSR markers developed in this study provide a valuable resource for future genetic studies and breeding programs of S. aralocaspica, and even other species in Suaeda. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity Conservation and Stress Biology of Plants in Arid Regions)
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21 pages, 4649 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Characterization and Expression Profiling of ABA Biosynthesis Genes in a Desert Moss Syntrichia caninervis
by Xiujin Liu, Xiaoshuang Li, Honglan Yang, Ruirui Yang and Daoyuan Zhang
Plants 2023, 12(5), 1114; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12051114 - 1 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1678
Abstract
Syntrichia caninervis can survive under 80–90% protoplasmic water losses, and it is a model plant in desiccation tolerance research. A previous study has revealed that S. caninervis would accumulate ABA under dehydration stress, while the ABA biosynthesis genes in S. caninervis are still [...] Read more.
Syntrichia caninervis can survive under 80–90% protoplasmic water losses, and it is a model plant in desiccation tolerance research. A previous study has revealed that S. caninervis would accumulate ABA under dehydration stress, while the ABA biosynthesis genes in S. caninervis are still unknown. This study identified one ScABA1, two ScABA4s, five ScNCEDs, twenty-nine ScABA2s, one ScABA3, and four ScAAOs genes, indicating that the ABA biosynthesis genes were complete in S. caninervis. Gene location analysis showed that the ABA biosynthesis genes were evenly distributed in chromosomes but were not allocated to sex chromosomes. Collinear analysis revealed that ScABA1, ScNCED, and ScABA2 had homologous genes in Physcomitrella patens. RT-qPCR detection found that all of the ABA biosynthesis genes responded to abiotic stress; it further indicated that ABA plays an important role in S. caninervis. Moreover, the ABA biosynthesis genes in 19 representative plants were compared to study their phylogenetic and conserved motifs; the results suggested that the ABA biosynthesis genes were closely associated with plant taxa, but these genes had the same conserved domain in each plant. In contrast, there is a huge variation in the exon number between different plant taxa; it revealed that ABA biosynthesis gene structures are closely related to plant taxa. Above all, this study provides strong evidence demonstrating that ABA biosynthesis genes were conserved in the plant kingdom and deepens our understanding of the evolution of the phytohormone ABA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity Conservation and Stress Biology of Plants in Arid Regions)
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20 pages, 13836 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Identification of bHLH Transcription Factor Family in Malus sieversii and Functional Exploration of MsbHLH155.1 Gene under Valsa Canker Infection
by Shanshan Jia, Xiaojie Liu, Xuejing Wen, Abdul Waheed, Yu Ding, Gulnaz Kahar, Xiaoshuang Li and Daoyuan Zhang
Plants 2023, 12(3), 620; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12030620 - 31 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1435
Abstract
Xinjiang wild apple (Malus sieversii) is an ancient relic; a plant with abundant genetic diversity and disease resistance. Several transcription factors were studied in response to different biotic and abiotic stresses on the wild apple. Basic/helix–loop–helix (bHLH) is a large plant [...] Read more.
Xinjiang wild apple (Malus sieversii) is an ancient relic; a plant with abundant genetic diversity and disease resistance. Several transcription factors were studied in response to different biotic and abiotic stresses on the wild apple. Basic/helix–loop–helix (bHLH) is a large plant transcription factor family that plays important roles in plant responses to various biotic and abiotic stresses and has been extensively studied in several plants. However, no study has yet been conducted on the bHLH gene in M. sieversii. Based on the genome of M. sieversii, 184 putative MsbHLH genes were identified, and their physicochemical properties were studied. MsbHLH covered 23 subfamilies and lacked two subfamily genes of Arabidopsis thaliana based on the widely used classification method. Moreover, MsbHLH exon–intron structures matched subfamily classification, as evidenced by the analysis of their protein motifs. The analysis of cis-acting elements revealed that many MsbHLH genes share stress- and hormone-related cis-regulatory elements. These MsbHLH transcription factors were found to be involved in plant defense responses based on the protein–protein interactions among the differentially expressed MsbHLHs. Furthermore, 94 MsbHLH genes were differentially expressed in response to pathogenic bacteria. The qRT-PCR results also showed differential expression of MsbHLH genes. To further verify the gene function of bHLH, our study used the transient transformation method to obtain the overexpressed MsbHLH155.1 transgenic plants and inoculated them. Under Valsa canker infection, the lesion phenotype and physiological and biochemical indexes indicated that the antioxidant capacity of plants could increase and reduce the damage caused by membrane peroxidation. This study provides detailed insights into the classification, gene structure, motifs, chromosome distribution, and gene expression of bHLH genes in M. sieversii and lays a foundation for a better understanding disease resistance in plants, as well as providing candidate genes for the development of M. sieversii resistance breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity Conservation and Stress Biology of Plants in Arid Regions)
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