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Tolerance Response Mechanisms to Abiotic Stress in Woody Crops

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A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 11571

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mary-Rus Martínez Cuenca

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Guest Editor

Valencian Institute of Agrarian Research (IVIA), 46113 Valencia, Spain
Interests: physiology; abiotic stress; citrus; kiwi; iron chlorosis; mineral nutrition; tolerance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. María Ángeles Forner-Giner

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Guest Editor

Valencian Institute of Agrarian Research (IVIA), 46113 Valencia, Spain
Interests: citrus; rootstock; breeding; abiotic stress; salinity; flooding
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The journal Plants will be jointly publishing a Special Issue on plant tolerance. Adverse environmental conditions, such as salinity, drought, flooding, temperature, chemical toxicity, and oxidative stress, cause major loss in plant growth and crop yield and, consequently, threaten global food security. This impact is especially relevant in woody plants as a result of its long-term growth period. To counteract these effects, trees have evolved specific mechanisms for acclimation and tolerance to abiotic stresses. Plant growth and development are regulated by the integration of many environmental and endogenous signals, including plant hormones, enzymes or transporters. This issue focuses on recent studies on physiological and molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress responses in woody plants, functions of ion transporters, enzymes involved, genes that maintain plant homeostasis and the interconnection of the mechanisms at cell and whole plant level. An understanding of these mechanisms in depth should shed light on factors for the improvement of woody plants to overcome severe abiotic stress conditions.

Dr. Mary-Rus Martínez Cuenca
Dr. María Ángeles Forner-Giner
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

abiotic stress
salinity
iron chlorosis
drought
flooding
temperature
chemical toxicity

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2771 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exogenous Spermidine Alleviated Low-Temperature Damage by Affecting Polyamine Metabolism and Antioxidant Levels in Apples

by Meiqi He, Jia Zhou, Deguo Lyu, Gongxun Xu and Sijun Qin

Plants 2024, 13(8), 1100; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13081100 - 15 Apr 2024

Viewed by 493

Abstract

Low-temperature stress significantly limits the growth, development, and geographical distribution of apple cultivation. Spermidine (Spd), a known plant growth regulator, plays a vital role in the plant’s response to abiotic stress. Yet, the mechanisms by which exogenous Spd enhances cold resistance in apples remain poorly understood. Therefore, the present study analyzed the effects of exogenous Spd on antioxidant enzyme activity, polyamine metabolism, and related gene expression levels of 1-year-old apple branches under low-temperature stress. Treatment with exogenous Spd was found to stabilize branch tissue biofilms and significantly reduce the levels of reactive oxygen species by elevating proline content and boosting the activity of antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase. It also upregulated the activities of arginine decarboxylase, S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, and spermidine synthase and the expression levels of MdADC1, MdSAMDC1, and MdSPDS1 under low-temperature stress and led to the accumulation of large amounts of Spd and spermine. Moreover, compared with the 2 mmol·L⁻¹ Spd treatment, the 1 mmol·L⁻¹ Spd treatment increased the expression levels of cold-responsive genes MdCBF1/2/3, MdCOR47, and MdKIN1, significantly. The findings suggest that exogenous Spd can enhance cold resistance in apple branches significantly. This enhancement is achieved by modulating polyamine metabolism and improving antioxidant defense mechanisms, which could be exploited to improve apple cultivation under cold stress conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tolerance Response Mechanisms to Abiotic Stress in Woody Crops)

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15 pages, 606 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Foliar Nutrition Influences Yield, Nut Quality and Kernel Composition in Hazelnut cv Mortarella

by Antonio Pannico, Giuseppe Carlo Modarelli, Silvia Rita Stazi, Matteo Giaccone, Raffaele Romano, Youssef Rouphael and Chiara Cirillo

Plants 2023, 12(11), 2219; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12112219 - 4 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1422

Abstract

In hazelnut, foliar nutrition is utilized globally to integrate microelement deficiencies and optimize their assimilation and effects on yield performances. Nevertheless, nut quality and kernel composition can be positively affected by foliar nutrition. Recently, several studies pointed out the need for increasing the sustainability of orchard nutrition by proposing the management of not only micronutrients, but also main components, such as nitrogen, through foliar spraying. In our study, different foliar fertilizers were used to understand the effectiveness of supporting hazelnut productivity and nut and kernel quality. Water was used as a control. Foliar fertilizations affected tree annual vegetative growth, improved kernel weight and decreased the incidence of blanks compared to the control. Differences in fat, protein, and carbohydrate concentration were also found among treatments, with increased fat concentrations and total polyphenols content in fertilized treatments. Foliar fertilization improved the oil composition of the kernels, though fatty acid composition responded differently to nutrients spray. Oleic acid concentration was promoted, while palmitic acid concentration was reduced in fertilized plants compared to control trees. Furthermore, CD and B trees were characterized by an increase in the ratio of unsaturated/saturated fatty acids compared to untreated trees. Finally, foliar spraying improved lipid stability compared to the control due to higher total polyphenol concentration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tolerance Response Mechanisms to Abiotic Stress in Woody Crops)

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19 pages, 3121 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of a DANA Event on the Thermal Response of Nectarine Trees

by María R. Conesa, Wenceslao Conejero, Juan Vera, Ana Belén Mira-García and María Carmen Ruiz-Sánchez

Plants 2023, 12(4), 907; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12040907 - 17 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1508

Abstract

This field experiment focuses on the effects of a heavy rainfall event (DANA, depresión aislada en niveles altos) that occurred on 12–14 September 2019 (DOY, Day of the year, 255–257), in southern Spain on plant water status and the thermal response of nectarine trees. Two irrigation treatments were applied during the summer–autumn postharvest period (DOY 158–329): full-irrigated (CTL) and non-irrigated (DRY). Volumetric soil water content (θ_v), air temperature (Ta) and canopy temperature (Tc) were monitored in real-time and the crop water stress index (CWSI) was calculated. The difference in Tc between the DRY and CTL treatments (Tc’ − Tc) is proposed as a new thermal indicator. Stem water potential (Ψ_stem) and leaf gas exchange measurements were recorded on representative days. During the DANA event, only the Tc measured by the infrared radiometer sensors could be monitored. Therefore, the effects of the DANA forced the soil water content sensors to be switched off, which prevented Ψ_stem and leaf gas exchange determinations from DOY 255 to 275. Before the DANA event, withholding irrigation caused a gradual decrease in the soil and plant water status in the DRY treatment. Significant differences appeared between treatments in the studied thermal indexes. Moreover, Tc’ − Tc was more sensitive than Tc − Ta in assessing nectarine water stress. The effects of the DANA reduced these differences, suggesting different baselines for the calculation of CWSI. In this respect, the relationship Tc − Ta vs. VPD improved the coefficient of determination after the DANA event in full-irrigated trees. Similar values of Ψ_stem and leaf gas exchange were found in both treatments after the DANA event, even though thermal indexes showed some significant differences. In addition, the strong relationship found between Tc − Ta and CWSI vs. Ψ_stem worsened after DANA occurred, revealing a lower sensitivity of Ψ_stem compared to canopy temperature to accurately assess nectarine water status in these saturated soil conditions. This research underlined the robustness of infrared thermography to continuously monitor plant water status under these extreme weather conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tolerance Response Mechanisms to Abiotic Stress in Woody Crops)

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14 pages, 979 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Phytoremediation of Potentially Toxic Elements from Contaminated Saline Soils Using Salvadora persica L.: Seasonal Evaluation

by Amtul Mujeeb, Zainul Abideen, Irfan Aziz, Nadia Sharif, Muhammad Iftikhar Hussain, Asad Sarwar Qureshi and Hsi-Hsien Yang

Plants 2023, 12(3), 598; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12030598 - 29 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2235

Abstract

Plants in coastal ecosystems are primarily known as natural sinks of trace metals and their importance for phytoremediation is well established. Salvadora persica L., a medicinally important woody crop of marginal coasts, was evaluated for the accumulation of metal pollutants (viz. Fe, Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cr) from three coastal areas of Karachi on a seasonal basis. Korangi creek, being the most polluted site, had higher heavy metals (HM’s) in soil (Fe up to 17,389, Mn: 268, Zn: 105, Cu: 23, Pb: 64.7 and Cr up to 35.9 mg kg⁻¹) and S. persica accumulated most of the metals with >1 TF (translocation factor), yet none of them exceeded standard permissible ranges except for Pb (up to 3.1 in roots and 3.37 mg kg⁻¹ in leaves with TF = 11.7). Seasonal data suggested that higher salinity in Clifton and Korangi creeks during pre- and post-monsoon summers resulted in lower leaf water (ΨW_o) and osmotic potential at full turgor (ΨS_o) and bulk elasticity (ε), higher leaf Na⁺ and Pb but lower extractable concentrations of other toxic metals (Cr, Cu, and Zn) in S. persica. Variation in metal accumulation may be linked to metal speciation via specific transporters and leaf water relation dynamics. Our results suggested that S. persica could be grown on Zn, Cr and Cu polluted soils but not on Pb affected soils as its leaves accumulated higher concentrations than the proposed limits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tolerance Response Mechanisms to Abiotic Stress in Woody Crops)

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19 pages, 1907 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cultivation Using Coir Substrate and P or K Enriched Fertilizer Provides Higher Resistance to Drought in Ecologically Diverse Quercus Species

by Barbara Mariotti, Sofia Martini, Sabrina Raddi, Francesca Ugolini, Juan A. Oliet, Douglass F. Jacobs and Alberto Maltoni

Plants 2023, 12(3), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12030525 - 23 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1548

Abstract

Nursery cultivation practices can be modified to increase resistance to water stress in forest seedlings following field establishment, which may be increasingly important under climate change. We evaluated the morphological (survival, growth) and physiological (chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf water potential) responses to water stress for three ecologically diverse Quercus species (Q. robur, Q. pubescens, and Q. ilex) with varying traits resulting from the combination of growing media (peat, coir) and fertilization (standard, P-enriched, K-enriched). For all species under water stress, seedlings grown in coir had generally higher growth than those grown in peat. Seedlings fertilized with P performed better, particularly for survival; conversely, K fertilization resulted in inconsistent findings. Such results could be explained by a combination of factors. P fertilization resulted in higher P accumulation in seedlings, while no K accumulation was observed in K fertilized seedlings. As expected, the more drought-sensitive species, Q. robur, showed the worst response, while Q. pubescens had a drought resistance equal or better to Q. ilex despite being classified as intermediate in drought resistance in Mediterranean environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tolerance Response Mechanisms to Abiotic Stress in Woody Crops)

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Review

Jump to: Research

20 pages, 1478 KiB

Open AccessReview

Molecular Insights into Abiotic Stresses in Mango

by Pandiyan Muthuramalingam, Subramanian Muthamil, Jayabalan Shilpha, Varadharajan Venkatramanan, Arumugam Priya, Jinwook Kim, Yunji Shin, Jen-Tsung Chen, Venkidasamy Baskar, Kyoungmi Park and Hyunsuk Shin

Plants 2023, 12(10), 1939; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12101939 - 9 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3632

Abstract

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the most economically important fruit crops across the world, mainly in the tropics and subtropics of Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. Abiotic stresses are the prominent hindrance that can adversely affect the growth, development, and significant yield loss of mango trees. Understanding the molecular physiological mechanisms underlying abiotic stress responses in mango is highly intricate. Therefore, to gain insights into the molecular basis and to alleviate the abiotic stress responses to enhance the yield in the mere future, the use of high-throughput frontier approaches should be tied along with the baseline investigations. Taking these gaps into account, this comprehensive review mainly speculates to provide detailed mechanisms and impacts on physiological and biochemical alterations in mango under abiotic stress responses. In addition, the review emphasizes the promising omics approaches in unraveling the candidate genes and transcription factors (TFs) responsible for abiotic stresses. Furthermore, this review also summarizes the role of different types of biostimulants in improving the abiotic stress responses in mango. These studies can be undertaken to recognize the roadblocks and avenues for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance in mango cultivars. Potential investigations pointed out the implementation of powerful and essential tools to uncover novel insights and approaches to integrate the existing literature and advancements to decipher the abiotic stress mechanisms in mango. Furthermore, this review serves as a notable pioneer for researchers working on mango stress physiology using integrative approaches. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tolerance Response Mechanisms to Abiotic Stress in Woody Crops)

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