Abstract

Drought alone causes more annual loss in crop yield than all pathogens combined. To adapt to moisture gradients in soil, plants alter their physiology, modify root growth and architecture, and close stomata on their aboveground segments. These tissue-specific responses modify the flux of cellular signals, resulting in early flowering or stunted growth and, often, reduced yield. Physiological and molecular analyses of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana have identified phytohormone signaling as key for regulating the response to drought or water insufficiency. Here we discuss how engineering hormone signaling in specific cells and cellular domains can facilitate improved plant responses to drought. We explore current knowledge and future questions central to the quest to produce high-yield, drought-resistant crops.

Keywords

BiologyArabidopsis thalianaDrought toleranceYield (engineering)PhysiologyPlant rootsCropArabidopsisAgronomyBotanyMutantGene

MeSH Terms

Abscisic AcidArabidopsisCropsAgriculturalDroughtsGenetic EngineeringPlant Growth RegulatorsSignal TransductionWater

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Publication Info

Year
2020
Type
review
Volume
368
Issue
6488
Pages
266-269
Citations
2038
Access
Closed

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Cite This

Aditi Gupta, Andrés Rico‐Medina, Ana I. Caño‐Delgado (2020). The physiology of plant responses to drought. Science , 368 (6488) , 266-269. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz7614

Identifiers

DOI
10.1126/science.aaz7614
PMID
32299946

Data Quality

Data completeness: 86%