Article
Plant Sciences
Rose A. Marks, Mpho Mbobe, Marilize Greyling, Jennie Pretorius, David Nicholas McLetchie, Robert VanBuren, Jill M. Farrant
Summary: Desiccation-tolerant plants show natural variation across environmental differences, with associations between environmental variation, population characteristics, and fitness traits.
Article
Plant Sciences
Miquel Nadal, Marc Carriqui, Eric Badel, Herve Cochard, Sylvain Delzon, Andrew King, Laurent J. Lamarque, Jaume Flexas, Jose M. Torres-Ruiz
Summary: This study investigated the physiological responses of a resurrection plant during the dehydration and rehydration process. The results showed that the plant adjusted its photosynthesis and stomatal conductance to delay dehydration and prepare for desiccation. Complete rehydration occurred rapidly in the mesophyll, while the refilling of xylem and subsequent recovery of photosynthesis occurred at later stages. These findings highlight the importance of stomata in protecting the vascular system from embolism even in desiccation-tolerant plants.
PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Miquel Nadal, Marc Carriqui, Eric Badel, Herve Cochard, Sylvain Delzon, Andrew King, Laurent J. Lamarque, Jaume Flexas, Jose M. Torres-Ruiz
Summary: This study investigated photosynthesis and hydraulics during the desiccation and rehydration process in the resurrection plant Barbacenia purpurea. The results showed that photosynthesis and leaf hydraulic conductance ceased at relatively high water potential, while leaf embolism occurred after photosynthesis cessation. Complete rehydration occurred rapidly in the mesophyll, while partial xylem refilling and subsequent recovery of photosynthesis occurred at later stages after rewatering.
PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Miquel Nadal, Alicia Perera-Castro, Javier Gulias, Jill M. Farrant, Jaume Flexas
Summary: Resurrection plants have unique anatomical features such as thick cell walls and high chloroplast exposure, which help them tolerate stress without compromising photosynthetic capacity. The combination of these factors enables higher net CO2 assimilation per cell wall thickness in resurrection species compared to desiccation-sensitive plants. This mechanism is particularly successful in resurrection ferns, which show higher photosynthesis rates than their counterparts.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Shandry M. M. Tebele, Rose A. A. Marks, Jill M. M. Farrant
Summary: This study aimed to identify bacterial and fungal communities that tolerate extreme drought stress in the bulk soil, rhizosphere, and endosphere of Myrothamnus flabellifolia, and found that these communities might contribute to the plant's drought tolerance.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhuo Huang, Jiatong Wang, Yuan Li, Li Song, Duo'er Chen, Ling Liu, Cai-Zhong Jiang
Summary: In this study, a WRKY transcription factor, MfWRKY40, was discovered in the resurrection plant M. flabellifolia, which showed early dehydration induction. Overexpression of MfWRKY40 in Arabidopsis enhanced the plant's tolerance to drought and salt stresses by promoting root length elongation, reducing water loss, regulating stomata aperture, accumulating osmolytes, and enhancing antioxidation ability.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tsanko Gechev, Rafe Lyall, Veselin Petrov, Dorothea Bartels
Summary: Advances in the genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics of desiccation-tolerant plants have identified key genes and gene families involved in the desiccation response, providing insights into the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying plant desiccation tolerance.
CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR LIFE SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
S. Francois du Toit, Jill M. Farrant, Lior Faigon, Inbal Neta-Sharir, Ziv Reich
Summary: Resurrection plants are a polyphyletic group of angiosperms that can survive in drought conditions and recover metabolic capability after rehydration. Some homoiochlorophyllous species maintain their photosynthetic apparatus during dehydration, showing desiccation-associated tissue differentiation during early rehydration.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhuo Huang, Ling Liu, Linli Jian, Wenxin Xu, Jiatong Wang, Yaxuan Li, Cai-Zhong Jiang
Summary: This study identified and characterized a dehydration-upregulated gene MfWRKY7 from a resurrection plant, which showed increased root length and tolerance to drought and salinity when overexpressed in Arabidopsis. Further investigations revealed that MfWRKY7 transgenic plants had enhanced antioxidation capacity and improved physiological traits under drought and salinity stresses.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Shandry M. Tebele, Rose A. Marks, Jill M. Farrant
Summary: Resurrection plants are valuable models for studying the complex biology of vegetative desiccation tolerance, with research focus mainly in South Africa, Bulgaria, Germany, and China. While most studies have employed physiological and transcriptomic methodologies on leaves, there is a lack of research on roots and metagenomics.
Article
Plant Sciences
Aneta Ivanova, Brendan O'Leary, Santiago Signorelli, Denis Falconet, Daniela Moyankova, James Whelan, Dimitar Djilianov, Monika W. Murcha
Summary: This study investigated the mitochondrial activity and biogenesis in Haberlea rhodopensis leaves during fresh, desiccated, and rehydrated states. The researchers found that unlike photosynthesis, mitochondrial respiration in the plant was immediately activated to levels comparable to fresh tissue upon rehydration. The abundance of transcripts and proteins involved in mitochondrial respiration and biogenesis remained consistent across all three states. The study also revealed the presence of alternative respiratory components and high uncoupled respiration capacity in desiccated tissue.
Article
Biology
Hawwa Gabier, David L. Tabb, Jill M. Farrant, Mohamed Suhail Rafudeen
Summary: The study conducted label-free proteomic analysis of leaves of the resurrection plant Xerophyta schlechteri in response to desiccation, validating a targeted metabolomics approach. It identified 517 distinct proteins that were differentially expressed in response to drying stages, correlating with metabolomics analyses of phytohormones, amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids. This study provides insight into the biological processes involved in desiccation tolerance in Xerophyta schlechteri.
Article
Plant Sciences
Gergana Mihailova, Bekim Gashi, Nikola Krastev, Katya Georgieva
Summary: Resurrection plants have the unique ability to survive in dry and freezing conditions. The response of the photosynthetic apparatus and the role of protective proteins in freezing tolerance were investigated. Freezing-induced dehydration inhibited photosynthetic activity, but plants were able to recover their photosynthetic activity during the recovery process.
Article
Plant Sciences
Steven T. Bristow, Leonardo H. Hernandez-Espinoza, Maria-Sole Bonarota, Felipe H. Barrios-Masias
Summary: Environments with short growing seasons and variable climates can affect crop growth adversely. This study found that grafting rootstocks can enhance tomato performance under suboptimal soil temperatures, with decreased root hydraulic conductivity and conductance, but increased root-to-shoot ratios. Some commercial rootstocks have traits that maintain better rates of stomatal conductance and shoot N content, contributing to improved plant establishment and performance under suboptimal soil temperatures.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Chiara Amitrano, Carmen Arena, Valerio Cirillo, Stefania De Pascale, Veronica De Micco
Summary: The study found that plants grown under different VPD conditions exhibited different physiological and anatomical traits. Plants grown under high VPD conditions showed reduced gas exchange parameters such as stomatal density and vein density, leading to decreased photosynthesis and stomatal conductance.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2021)