Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 5, 2025
06:35
Semi-High Throughput Screening for Potential Drought-tolerance in Lettuce Lactuca sativa Germplasm Collections
Published on: April 17, 2015
9.4K
How Do Novel M-Rootstock (Vitis Spp.) Genotypes Cope with Drought?
Davide Bianchi1, Leila Caramanico1, Daniele Grossi1
1Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Giovanni Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy.
Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 21, 2020
Summary
Novel M-rootstocks exhibit drought tolerance by maintaining photosynthesis under water stress. These grapevine genotypes show transcriptional changes and physiological responses similar to established tolerant rootstocks.
Area of Science:
- Viticulture and Plant Science
- Plant Physiology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Grapevine cultivation faces challenges from drought and high temperatures in arid regions.
- Water stress significantly impacts grapevine physiology, potentially causing irreversible damage.
- Developing new rootstocks through genetic diversity screening is crucial for adapting viticulture to environmental challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the physiological and gene expression responses of novel M-rootstocks (M1, M3, M4) to varying soil water content.
- To compare the drought tolerance strategies of M-rootstocks with widely used commercial rootstocks.
- To identify key genes involved in abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis and signaling under water-limited conditions.
Main Methods:
- Investigated physiological parameters including gas exchange and stem water potential under controlled water deficit (80%, 50%, 20% SWC).
- Analyzed transcript abundance of ABA biosynthesis (VvZEP, VvNCED1, VvNCED2) and signaling (VvPP2C4, VvSnRK2.6, VvABF2) genes.
- Compared M-rootstock performance against nine commercial grapevine rootstocks.
Main Results:
- M-rootstocks maintained high photosynthetic activity and water use efficiency under severe water stress (20% SWC).
- Physiological adjustments included reduced stomatal conductance and stem water potential.
- Upregulation of VvNCED1 and VvNCED2 gene transcripts was observed at 50% SWC, indicating an ABA-mediated response.
- M-rootstocks demonstrated comparable drought tolerance to commercial rootstocks 1103P and 110R.
Conclusions:
- Novel M-rootstocks possess a 'tolerant' strategy for managing water-stressed conditions.
- These findings support the use of M-rootstocks in breeding programs for drought-resistant grapevines.
- Understanding gene expression patterns provides insights into grapevine adaptation mechanisms to water scarcity.
Keywords:
ABA biosynthesisABA signalingphotosynthetic activitystem water potentialstomatal conductancetranspirationwater use efficiencyMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:41Responses to Drought and Flooding
11.6K
Water plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. However, insufficient or excess of water can be detrimental and pose a serious threat to plants.
11.6K
01:57Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
27.4K
Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
27.4K
02:04Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
30.3K
During photosynthesis, plants acquire the necessary carbon dioxide and release the produced oxygen back into the atmosphere. Openings in the epidermis of plant leaves is the site of this exchange of gasses. A single opening is called a stoma—derived from the Greek word for “mouth.” Stomata open and close in response to a variety of environmental cues.
30.3K
02:02Responses to Salt Stress
13.9K
Salt stress—which can be triggered by high salt concentrations in a plant’s environment—can significantly affect plant growth and crop production by influencing photosynthesis and the absorption of water and nutrients.
13.9K
02:45Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
14.4K
Every organism has an optimum temperature range within which healthy growth and physiological functioning can occur. At the ends of this range, there will be a minimum and maximum temperature that interrupt biological processes.
14.4K
00:53Tonicity in Plants
58.8K
Tonicity describes the capacity of a cell to lose or gain water. It depends on the quantity of solute that does not penetrate the membrane. Tonicity delimits the magnitude and direction of osmosis and results in three possible scenarios that alter the volume of a cell: hypertonicity, hypotonicity, and isotonicity. Due to differences in structure and physiology, tonicity of plant cells is different from that of animal cells in some scenarios.
58.8K