When observing thale cress, Sjon Hartman and his collaborators found out which signaling pathways the hormone ethylene uses to switch on a molecular emergency program in plants in the event of flooding.
Photo: Iris Hartman/University of Freiburg
Researchers from Freiburg and Utrecht show which signaling pathways make plants more resistant to flooding
Extreme weather phenomena are on the rise worldwide, including frequent droughts and fires. Floods are also a clear consequence of climate change. For agriculture, a flooded field means major losses: about 15 percent of global crop losses are due to flooding. As part of a collaboration between Freiburg, Utrecht in the Netherlands, and other institutes, Junior Professor Dr. Sjon Hartman from the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS – Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies at the University of Freiburg, has now discovered that a signaling molecule can make plants more resistant to flooding. The gaseous plant hormone ethylene causes the plant to switch on a kind of molecular emergency power system that helps it survive the lack of oxygen during flooding. The team had previously demonstrated that ethylene sends a signal to the plant that it is underwater. Pretreating the experimental plants with the hormone improved their chances of survival. The results, which appeared in the journal Plant Physiology, should help to combat waterlogging and flooding in agriculture and, for example, to develop resistant plant varieties.
Tracking the adaptations to wet conditions
Plant species differ greatly in their ability to survive periods of flooding or waterlogging. “In the case of potatoes, the roots die after two days due to a lack of oxygen. Rice plants are much more resistant, able to survive their entire lives in waterlogged paddy fields,” Hartman explains. The Arabidopsis thaliana, a model organism for plant research, can be used to study the genes and proteins that make up this adaptation. “Plants notice that they are surrounded by water because the gas ethylene, which all plant cells produce, can no longer escape into the air,” Hartman continues. The researchers showed this in previous studies at Utrecht University. Receptors throughout the plant subsequently respond to increased concentrations of the hormone.
Simulate flooding with oxygen deprivation
The team simulated flooding by placing Arabidopsis seedlings in a bell jar without light or oxygen. When the seedlings were previously exposed to ethylene gas, the root tip cells survived longer. The treated plants stopped root growth and switched energy production in the cells to oxygen-free metabolic processes. In addition, the ethylene caused the cells to be better protected against harmful oxygen radicals that accumulate in oxygen-deprived plants. This was revealed by analyses of gene activity and protein composition of the cells.
“Taken together, these rearrangements that ethylene triggers improve plant survival during and after flooding,” Hartman summarizes. “As we better understand these signaling pathways, we can learn to make crops more resilient to flooding to combat climate change.”
Original Article: How crops can better survive floods
More from: University of Freiburg | Utrecht University
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Flood resistant plants
- Summer’s raining neem flowers, jobs for women in TN
Though the recent Michung flood caused heavy crop and property damage in southern Tamil Nadu including Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari, it al.
- Column: Two April events will produce long-lasting, environmental impacts for Palm Beach
Native plants will replace the invasive ... Buttonwoods are salt, wind and drought tolerant and with their open, spreading canopies, they make beautiful specimen trees while providing important wind ...
- Phase 2 Of Miami’s Linear Park And Trail, The Underline, Just Opened
Miamians are excited. The much-anticipated, long-awaited second phase of The Underline, Miami’s developing 10-mile linear park and multimodal path, opened on April 24. I live a few blocks from this ...
- Submergence-tolerant rice varieties rayof hope for farmers in flood-prone Assam
Guwahati: With the Met department having forecast normal to above normal rainfall in parts of Assam, the introduction of flood and stress-tolerant rice varieties has brought a glimmer of hope to ...
- Corps Proposes 18.5-mile Levee in Louisiana's St. Tammany Parish
Additionally, the study advises elevating homes and making businesses flood-resistant. The Corps estimates that taking the proposed measures would produce net benefits of an estimated at $237.8 ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Flood resistant plants
[google_news title=”” keyword=”flood resistant plants” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Flood resistant crops
- Facing the fury: How Nigerian farmers battle climate change amid economic challenges
Nigeria's once-serene farmlands are facing a new reality. This isn't just a story of unpredictable weather; it's a complex ...
- Summer’s raining neem flowers, jobs for women in TN
Though the recent Michung flood caused heavy crop and property damage in southern Tamil Nadu including Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari, it al.
- Brazil suffers crop losses due to heavy floods
Southern Brazil has been hit by floods that have devastated the country, including the country's second-largest soybean producer.
- Phase 2 Of Miami’s Linear Park And Trail, The Underline, Just Opened
Miamians are excited. The much-anticipated, long-awaited second phase of The Underline, Miami’s developing 10-mile linear park and multimodal path, opened on April 24. I live a few blocks from this ...
- 71 percent of crops damaged due to rains and flood in 2023-24 Maha season
Due to the heavy rains and floods that affected the country during the 2023/24 Maha season, 68,131 hectares of land cultivated with vegetables and other crops have been destroyed. The Department of ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Flood resistant crops
[google_news title=”” keyword=”flood resistant crops” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]