Genome-Wide Investigation of the Role of MicroRNAs in Desiccation Tolerance in the Resurrection Grass Tripogon loliiformis

Drought causes approximately two-thirds of crop and yield loss worldwide. To sustain future generations, there is a need to develop robust crops with enhanced water use efficiency. Resurrection plants are naturally resilient and tolerate up to 95% water loss with the ability to revive upon watering. Stress is genetically encoded and resilient species may garner tolerance by tightly regulating the expression of stress-related genes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) post-transcriptionally regulate development and other stress response processes in eukaryotes. However, their role in resurrection plant desiccation tolerance is poorly understood. In this study, small RNA sequencing and miRNA expression profiling was conducted using Tripogon loliiformis plants subjected to extreme water deficit conditions. Differentially expressed miRNA profiles, target mRNAs, and their regulatory processes were elucidated. Gene ontology enrichment analysis revealed that development, stress response, and regulation of programmed cell death biological processes; Oxidoreductase and hydrolyase molecular activities; and SPL, MYB, and WRKY transcription factors were targeted by miRNAs during dehydration stress, indicating the indispensable regulatory role of miRNAs in desiccation tolerance. This study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant T. loliiformis. This information will be useful in devising strategies for crop improvement on enhanced drought tolerance and water use efficiency.

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High-throughput phenotyping reveals a link between transpiration efficiency and transpiration restriction under high evaporative demand and new loci controlling water use-related traits in African rice, Oryza glaberrima Steud.

10.1101/2021.11.28.470237 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pablo Affortit ◽

Branly Effa Effa ◽

Mame Sokhatil Ndoye ◽

Daniel Moukouanga ◽

Nathalie Luchaire ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Association Studies ◽

Crop Improvement ◽

Oryza Glaberrima ◽

Genome Wide Association Studies ◽

Transpiration Efficiency ◽

Evaporative Demand ◽

African Rice ◽

Use Efficiency

Because water availability is the most important environmental factor limiting crop production, improving water use efficiency, the amount of carbon fixed per water used, is a major target for crop improvement. In rice, the genetic bases of transpiration efficiency, the derivation of water use efficiency at the whole-plant scale, and its putative component trait transpiration restriction under high evaporative demand, remain unknown. These traits were measured in a panel of 147 African rice Oryza glaberrima genotypes, known as potential sources of tolerance genes to biotic and abiotic stresses. Our results reveal that higher transpiration efficiency is associated with transpiration restriction in African rice. Detailed measurements in a subset of highly differentiated genotypes confirmed these associations and suggested that the root to shoot ratio played an important role in transpiration restriction. Genome wide association studies identified marker-trait associations for transpiration response to evaporative demand, transpiration efficiency and its residuals, that links to genes involved in water transport and cell wall patterning. Our data suggest that root shoot partitioning is an important component of transpiration restriction that has a positive effect on transpiration efficiency in African rice. Both traits are heritable and define targets for breeding rice with improved water use strategies.

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Variation of water use efficiency across seasons and years: Different role of herbaceous plants in desert ecosystem

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.035 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 647 ◽

pp. 827-835 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ran Liu ◽

Yan Li ◽

Yugang Wang ◽

Jie Ma ◽

Ellen Cieraad

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Desert Ecosystem ◽

Herbaceous Plants ◽

Use Efficiency

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Water Use Efficiency as a Constraint and Target for Improving the Resilience and Productivity of C3and C4Crops

Annual Review of Plant Biology ◽

10.1146/annurev-arplant-042817-040305 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 70 (1) ◽

pp. 781-808 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Andrew D.B. Leakey ◽

John N. Ferguson ◽

Charles P. Pignon ◽

Alex Wu ◽

Zhenong Jin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Crop Production ◽

Crop Improvement ◽

Canopy Structure ◽

Complex Trait ◽

Carbon Gain ◽

Crop Development ◽

Component Traits ◽

Use Efficiency

The ratio of plant carbon gain to water use, known as water use efficiency (WUE), has long been recognized as a key constraint on crop production and an important target for crop improvement. WUE is a physiologically and genetically complex trait that can be defined at a range of scales. Many component traits directly influence WUE, including photosynthesis, stomatal and mesophyll conductances, and canopy structure. Interactions of carbon and water relations with diverse aspects of the environment and crop development also modulate WUE. As a consequence, enhancing WUE by breeding or biotechnology has proven challenging but not impossible. This review aims to synthesize new knowledge of WUE arising from advances in phenotyping, modeling, physiology, genetics, and molecular biology in the context of classical theoretical principles. In addition, we discuss how rising atmospheric CO2concentration has created and will continue to create opportunities for enhancing WUE by modifying the trade-off between photosynthesis and transpiration.

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The Role of Mycorrhizal Fungus (Rhizophagus intaradices) and Hydrogel on Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Cucumber in Hydroponic Culture Conditions

Journal of Science and Technology of Greenhouse Culture ◽

10.47176/jspi.12.1.19762 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungus ◽

Culture Conditions ◽

Hydroponic Culture ◽

Use Efficiency

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Water Use, Leaf Cooling and Carbon Assimilation Efficiency of Heat Resistant Common Beans Evaluated in Western Amazonia

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.644010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Juan Carlos Suárez ◽

Milan O. Urban ◽

Amara Tatiana Contreras ◽

Jhon Eduar Noriega ◽

Chetan Deva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Acid Soil ◽

Crop Improvement ◽

Assimilation Efficiency ◽

Carbon Assimilation ◽

Acid Soils ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Heat Resistant ◽

Use Efficiency

In our study, we analyzed 30years of climatological data revealing the bean production risks for Western Amazonia. Climatological profiling showed high daytime and nighttime temperatures combined with high relative humidity and low vapor pressure deficit. Our understanding of the target environment allows us to select trait combinations for reaching higher yields in Amazonian acid soils. Our research was conducted using 64 bean lines with different genetic backgrounds. In high temperatures, we identified three water use efficiency typologies in beans based on detailed data analysis on gasometric exchange. Profligate water spenders and not water conservative accessions showed leaf cooling, and effective photosynthate partitioning to seeds, and these attributes were found to be related to higher photosynthetic efficiency. Thus, water spenders and not savers were recognized as heat resistant in acid soil conditions in Western Amazonia. Genotypes such as BFS 10, SEN 52, SER 323, different SEFs (SEF 73, SEF 10, SEF 40, SEF 70), SCR 56, SMR 173, and SMN 99 presented less negative effects of heat stress on yield. These genotypes could be suitable as parental lines for improving dry seed production. The improved knowledge on water-use efficiency typologies can be used for bean crop improvement efforts as well as further studies aimed at a better understanding of the intrinsic mechanisms of heat resistance in legumes.

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