Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 10, 2025

Measuring Gene Expression in Bombarded Barley Aleurone Layers with Increased Throughput
Published on: March 30, 2018
Abscisic acid-mediated modulation of morpho-physiological traits and transcript accumulation improves drought
Suman Gusain1, Rakesh Kumar1, Rohit Joshi1
1CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh 176061, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-HRDC Campus, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201 002, India.
Abstract:
Drought is a major abiotic factor leading to decreased productivity. The current study investigates the effects of prolonged drought stress and subsequent recovery in Crocus sativus L. through the exogenous application of abscisic acid (ABA) under field conditions in the Dhauladhar range of the Himalayan region. To evaluate the influence of drought stress, saffron corms (both large and medium) were subjected to three treatments: irrigation, water deficit (withheld irrigation), and ABA application (via foliar spray). The results indicated that morphological and physiological traits, including fresh weight and dry weight (leaf, root, mother corm and daughter corm), sprouting percentage, total biomass, flower number, stomatal aperture, relative water content, photosynthetic activity and Fv/Fm were negatively affected by drought stress. Further, histological analysis revealed a reduction in starch granule accumulation, while root metaxylem cells were found to be enlarged under water deficit conditions. Additionally, RT-PCR analysis indicated higher transcript abundance of DREB1, DREB2 and SnRK2 under drought conditions compared to the control, while the expression levels of MYB37, WRKY1, DHN1, DHN1 and AREB1 remained unchanged under similar conditions. Nevertheless, exogenous abscisic acid improved the drought tolerance of C. sativus. A decrease in lipid peroxidation and an increase in proline, chlorophyll content, and antioxidant activity were observed when ABA was applied under drought conditions. Overall, our study demonstrates ABA-mediated regulation of several key transcription factors under drought stress. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of drought tolerance in saffron, which will facilitate future breeding programmes for this highly valuable crop.
More Related Videos
11:27A Flexible Low Cost Hydroponic System for Assessing Plant Responses to Small Molecules in Sterile Conditions
Published on: August 25, 2018
08:52A Seed Coat Bedding Assay to Genetically Explore In Vitro How the Endosperm Controls Seed Germination in Arabidopsis thaliana
Published on: November 9, 2013
Related Concept Videos
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Responses to Drought and Flooding
Responses to Salt Stress
Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
Transcription
Transcription is the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA sequence by RNA polymerase. It is the first step in producing a protein from a gene sequence. Additionally, many other proteins and regulatory sequences are involved in the proper synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). Regulation of transcription is responsible for the differentiation of all the different types of cells and often for the proper cellular response to environmental signals.
Transcription Can Produce Different Kinds...
Responses to Heat and Cold Stress