Water Stress and Desiccation Tolerance in Plants

Dear Colleagues,

Water is the main component of plants and other living organisms. Among abiotic stresses, water deficit is one of the most adverse factors for plant growth and productivity. Water availability for plants is mainly determined by precipitation and the soil water retention capacity. It is also known that a large fraction of the water taken by plants from the soil is lost through transpiration, because of the need for terrestrial plants to take up CO₂ from the atmosphere. Plants have evolved a diversity of mechanisms to survive and progress in water-limited habitats. They can control water losses through stomatal opening, synthesize a range of compatible solutes that regulate their osmotic potential, and improve their photosynthetic capacity minimizing water losses by special metabolic adaptations like C-4 or CAM photosynthesis. An extreme case of adaption to low water availability are resurrection plants. These plants are able to stop any metabolic activity when they completely lose their water content but can resume physiological activities upon rehydration. Desiccation tolerance is achieved, among other mechanisms, by the accumulation of sugars that allow the rapid vitrification of cytoplasm, the pre-existence of a powerful antioxidant system, lipid membrane remodeling, activation of photoprotective mechanisms, adaptive adjustment of cell structures, etc.

All the responses of plants to water stress are regulated by a complex network of stress sensing and signaling pathways which involve hormones, Ca²⁺, ROS, lipids, and sugars. Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a critical role in regulating plant responses to dehydration and in the acquisition of desiccation tolerance. Another important pathway, independent of ABA signaling, is mediated by phospholipase D (PLD). This enzyme hydrolyzes phospholipids releasing a polar head and phosphatidic acid (PA). PLD activity is induced within minutes during dehydration and PA acts as a secondary messenger in cell signaling cascades.

Prof. Dr. Alfredo Guéra
Dr. Francisco Gasulla Vidal
Guest Editors

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