Physiological traits determining high adaptation potential of sweet briar (Rosa rubiginosa L.) at early stage of growth to dry lands

Little is known about mechanisms of sweet briar adaptation to dry habitats. The species is highly invasive and displaces native plants from dry lands of the southern hemisphere. This study evaluates physiological basis of Rosa rubiginosa L. adaptation to soil drought. We performed a pot soil drought experiment and assessed water relations, water use efficiency, gas exchange and photosynthetic apparatus activity. The study also measured the content of chlorophyll, soluble carbohydrates and proline and analyzed plant biomass growth. We hypothesized that the drought stress induced an effective mechanism enabling adaptation of young sweet briar roses to soil water deficit. The study identified several adaptation mechanisms of R. rubiginosa allowing the plant to survive soil drought. These included limiting transpiration and stomatal conductance, increasing the level of soluble sugars, reducing chlorophyll content, accumulating CO2 in intercellular spaces, and increasing the quantum yield of electron transport from Q(A)- to the PSI end electron acceptors. As a result, young sweet briar roses limited water loss and photoinhibition damage to the photosynthetic apparatus, which translated into consumption of soluble sugars for growth purposes. This study showed that photosynthesis optimization and increased activity of the photosynthetic apparatus made it possible to avoid photoinhibition and to effectively use water and sugars to maintain growth during water stress. This mechanism is probably responsible for the invasive nature of R. rubiginosa and its huge potential to displace native plant species from dry habitats of the southern hemisphere.