Physiological and biochemical analyses reveal drought tolerance in cool-season tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) turf grass with the application of melatonin

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Nur Alam ◽  
Yanping Wang ◽  
Zhulong Chan
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Leaf Water ◽  
Leaf Water Content ◽  
Antioxidant Enzyme Activities ◽  
Cool Season ◽  
Shoot Height ◽  
Turf Grass

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is a widely used, cool-season turf grass and is relatively sensitive to water stress. Melatonin has been reported to improve abiotic stress tolerance in many plants. In this study, we demonstrated that, although shoot height and fresh weight of tall fescue seedlings were significantly reduced by drought stress, they were increased by melatonin pre-treatment compared with control plants. Chemical analyses showed that tall fescue seedlings pre-treated with melatonin exhibited decreased levels of reactive oxygen species, electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde, but higher levels of antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase, and peroxidase) and total chlorophyll content, compared with untreated seedlings. Leaf water loss was also partially mitigated and leaf water content increased by melatonin application, resulting in improved plant growth under drought stress. Moreover, root growth of tall fescue seedlings was promoted by melatonin under osmotic stress. The results show that drought tolerance was improved in cool-season tall fescue by application of exogenous melatonin. Therefore, melatonin may potentially be used as a protectant for plants against the deleterious effects of drought or water-deficit stress.

scholarly journals Drought Tolerance Associated with Proline and Hormone Metabolism in Two Tall Fescue Cultivars

HortScience ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 1027-1032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Da Man ◽  
Yong-Xia Bao ◽  
Lie-Bao Han ◽  
Xunzhong Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Zeatin Riboside ◽  
Leaf Water Content ◽  
Van Gogh ◽  
Turfgrass Quality ◽  
Aba Content ◽  
Container Capacity

Drought stress is a major factor in turfgrass management; however, the underlying mechanisms of turfgrass drought tolerance are not well understood. This greenhouse study was designed to investigate proline and hormone responses to drought stress in two tall fescue [Festuca arundinacea (Schreb.)] cultivars differing in drought tolerance. The two cultivars, Van Gogh (relatively drought-tolerant) and AST7002 (relatively drought-sensitive), were established and grown under either well-watered (maintaining 90% container capacity) or drought stress (≈26% container capacity) and then re-watered. Drought stress reduced turfgrass quality, relative leaf water content (LWC), leaf indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and cytokinin zeatin riboside (ZR) content, and increased proline and abscisic acid (ABA) content. ‘Van Gogh’ had greater turfgrass quality rating, LWC, proline, ABA, and ZR content relative to ‘AST7002’ under drought stress conditions. At the end of drought stress, leaf proline, ZR, and ABA content were 32%, 43%, and 50% higher in ‘Van Gogh’ relative to ‘AST7002’, respectively. No cultivar difference was observed under well-watered conditions. The results of this study suggest that the proline, ABA, and ZR content are associated with drought tolerance. Selection and use of the cultivars with higher proline, ABA, and ZR content under drought stress may be a practical approach to improve tall fescue drought tolerance.

scholarly journals Silicon Application Increases Drought Tolerance of Kentucky Bluegrass by Improving Plant Water Relations and Morphophysiological Functions

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shah Saud ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
Yang Chen ◽  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Shah Fahad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Water Relations ◽  
Poa Pratensis ◽  
Kentucky Bluegrass ◽  
Leaf Water ◽  
Leaf Water Content ◽  
Plant Water Relations ◽  
Plant Water ◽  
Turf Quality

Drought stress encumbers the growth of turfgrass principally by disrupting the plant-water relations and physiological functions. The present study was carried out to appraise the role of silicon (Si) in improving the drought tolerance in Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensisL.). Drought stress and four levels (0, 200, 400, and 800 mg L−1) of Si (Na2SiO3·9H2O) were imposed after 2 months old plants cultured under glasshouse conditions. Drought stress was found to decrease the photosynthesis, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, leaf water content, relative growth rate, water use efficiency, and turf quality, but to increase in the root/shoot and leaf carbon/nitrogen ratio. Such physiological interferences, disturbances in plant water relations, and visually noticeable growth reductions in Kentucky bluegrass were significantly alleviated by the addition of Si after drought stress. For example, Si application at 400 mg L−1significantly increased the net photosynthesis by 44%, leaf water contents by 33%, leaf green color by 42%, and turf quality by 44% after 20 days of drought stress. Si application proved beneficial in improving the performance of Kentucky bluegrass in the present study suggesting that manipulation of endogenous Si through genetic or biotechnological means may result in the development of drought resistance in grasses.

scholarly journals Osmotic Potential, Sucrose Level, and Activity of Sucrose Metabolic Enzymes in Tall Fescue in Response to Deficit Irrigation

2010 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 506-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinmin Fu ◽  
Bingru Huang ◽  
Jack Fry
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Osmotic Potential ◽  
Deficit Irrigation ◽  
Leaf Water ◽  
Leaf Water Content ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sucrose Level

Effects of deficit irrigation applied to home lawns, used as means of water conservation, are an important issue. However, the impact of deficit irrigation on sucrose metabolism in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is unknown and important because sucrose is the dominant form of carbohydrate transported to developing plant organs. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of deficit irrigation on leaf water content, osmotic potential (ψS), sucrose level, and the activity of sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS; EC 2.4.1.14), sucrose synthase (SS; EC 2.4.1.13), and acid invertase (AI; EC 3.2.1.26) in tall fescue leaves. Sods of ‘Falcon II’ tall fescue were established in polyvinylchloride (PVC) tubes (10 cm diameter × 40 cm long) filled with a mixture of sand and fritted clay [9:1 (v:v)] and then placed in growth chambers. Reference evapotranspiration rate [ETo (millimeters of water per day)] was determined by weighing the PVC tubes containing well-watered turfgrass every 3 days to determine water loss on a daily basis as ETo. Deficit irrigation treatments were applied as follows: well-watered control, mild drought stress (60% ETo), and severe drought stress (20% ETo). Leaf water content was lower at 6, 12, and 20 days of treatment for the 20% ETo treatment and 20 days after treatment began for the 60% ETo treatment. Compared with the well-watered control, ψS was lower in the 60% ETo treatment on all three measurement dates. Sucrose was higher at 8 and 14 days after treatment began in the 60% ETo treatment and on all three measurement dates in the 20% ETo treatment relative to the well-watered control. No difference in sucrose level was observed between the 20% ETo and 60% ETo irrigation regimes at 8 and 14 days of treatment. Beginning 14 days after treatment, tall fescue had a higher level of SPS in the 60% ETo and 20% ETo treatments compared with the well-watered treatment. Tall fescue receiving 60% or 20% ETo had a lower level of AI activity on all measurement dates. Results suggest that the decrease in ψS was accompanied by higher sucrose levels, which were the result of the increased level of SPS and SS activity and a decline in AI activity.

scholarly journals Nutrient Accumulation and Associated Root Characteristics in Response to Drought Stress in Tall Fescue Cultivars

HortScience ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bingru Huang
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Root Length ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Specific Root Length ◽  
Root Characteristics ◽  
Drought Conditions ◽  
Effects Of Drought ◽  
K Concentration

Drought is a major factor limiting the growth of turfgrasses in many areas. The functional relationship of drought stress and accumulation of various ions in turfgrasses is not well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of drought on root growth and accumulation of several major nutrients in three tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) cultivars varying in drought tolerance (Falcon II = Houndog V > Rebel Jr). Grasses were grown in well-watered or drying (nonirrigated) soil for 35 days in a greenhouse. Drought conditions limited total root length to a greater extent for `Rebel Jr' than for `Falcon II' and `Houndog V', while specific root length (SRL) was greater in `Falcon II' and `Houndog V' than in `Rebel Jr'. Concentrations of N, P, and Mg decreased, whereas those of K, Ca, and Fe increased, in shoots of drought-stressed plants of all three cultivars. Root N was not affected, but root P decreased in `Rebel Jr', and root K decreased in all three cultivars under drought conditions. Drought reduced the proportions of N and P in shoots and increased those in roots, while increasing the proportion of K in shoots and decreasing that in roots. During drought stress, both `Falcon II' and `Houndog V' maintained higher K concentration in shoots, and `Falcon II' in roots, than did `Rebel Jr', but `Rebel Jr' and `Houndog V' had higher Fe concentration in shoots than did `Falcon II'. The higher K and lower Fe accumulations in shoots could contribute to better drought tolerance of tall fescue cultivars.

scholarly journals Morpho-physiological Responses of Several Fescue Grasses to Drought Stress

HortScience ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 776-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianping P. Wang ◽  
Suleiman S. Bughrara ◽  
C. Jerry Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Root Length ◽  
Turgor Pressure ◽  
Leaf Water ◽  
Leaf Elongation ◽  
Drought Tolerant

Identification and screening of grasses with excellent drought tolerance is a desirable strategy in breeding drought-tolerant turf and forage cultivars. Not all fescue selections and cultivars may be equally drought tolerant. An Atlas fescue (Festuca mairei St. Yves) selection and three tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) cultivars—Barolex, Kentucky 31, and Falcon II—were subjected to increasing drought stress for a 12-week period. Soil water content (SWC), leaf elongation (LE), leaf water content (LWC), and leaf water potential (Ψw) were measured weekly, and root length (RL) and biomass (RM) were recorded after 12 weeks. The SWC declined progressively during the 12-week drought treatment for all grasses. However, for the three tall fescue cultivars, the SWC decreased at a faster rate than for Atlas fescue. This indicated that Atlas fescue extracted soil water more slowly and developed less-intensive stress than the three tall fescue cultivars. The LE, LWC, and leaf Ψw decreased in drought-treated plants of all grasses; nevertheless, the values for the Atlas fescue remained similar to control plants for a longer period of time than the values for the three tall fescue cultivars. Drought stress significantly reduced root biomass and root length of the grasses. These four Festucas avoid drought stress through changes in leaf and root morphology and probably through osmotic adjustment to maintain sufficient turgor pressure in the growing zone for leaf elongation. The slower decrease in LE, LWC, and leaf Ψw for Atlas fescue during the drought-stress period suggested greater drought tolerance and the potential value for improving this character in a breeding program.

Development of a diurnal dehydration index for spring barley phenotyping

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Rischbeck ◽  
Peter Baresel ◽  
Salah Elsayed ◽  
Bodo Mistele ◽  
Urs Schmidhalter
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Leaf Water ◽  
Leaf Angle ◽  
Leaf Water Content ◽  
Diurnal Changes ◽  
Angle Distribution

Spectral and thermal assessments may enable the precise, high-throughput and low-cost characterisation of traits linked to drought tolerance. However, spectral and thermal measurements of the canopy water status are influenced by the crops’ soil coverage, the size of the biomass and other properties such as the leaf angle distribution. The aim of this study was to develop a referenced spectral method that would be minimally influenced by potentially perturbing factors for retrieving the water status of differing cultivars. Sixteen spring barley cultivars were grown in field trials under imposed drought stress, natural drought stress and irrigated conditions. The relative leaf water content of barley plants declines diurnally from pre-dawn until the afternoon, and other plant traits such as the biomass change little throughout the day. As an indicator of the current drought stress, pre-dawn and afternoon values of the relative leaf water content were assessed spectrally. Diurnal changes in reflectance are only slightly influenced by other perturbing factors. A new spectral index (diurnal dehydration index) was developed by using the wavelengths 730 and 457 nm collected from an active spectrometer. This index allowed the differentiation of the drought tolerance of barley plants. The diurnal dehydration index was significantly related to final biomass, grain yield and harvest index and significantly different between cultivars. Compared with other indices, the diurnal dehydration index offered a higher stability in retrieving the water status of barley plants. Due to its diurnal assessment, the index was barely influenced by the differences in cultivars biomass at the time of measurement. It may represent a valuable tool for assessing the water status or drought tolerance in breeding nurseries.

scholarly journals Ectopic expression of Medicago truncatula homeodomain finger protein, MtPHD6, enhances drought tolerance in Arabidopsis

BMC Genomics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenli Quan ◽  
Xun Liu ◽  
Lihua Wang ◽  
Mingzhu Yin ◽  
Li Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Drought Stress ◽  
Transgenic Plants ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Medicago Truncatula ◽  
Ectopic Expression ◽  
Transcriptional Networks ◽  
Leaf Water Content ◽  
Antioxidant Enzyme Activities

Abstract Background The plant homeodomain (PHD) finger is a Cys4HisCys3-type zinc finger which promotes protein-protein interactions and binds to the cis-acting elements in the promoter regions of target genes. In Medicago truncatula, five PHD homologues with full-length sequence were identified. However, the detailed function of PHD genes was not fully addressed. Results In this study, we characterized the function of MtPHD6 during plant responses to drought stress. MtPHD6 was highly induced by drought stress. Ectopic expression of MtPHD6 in Arabidopsis enhanced tolerance to osmotic and drought stresses. MtPHD6 transgenic plants exhibited decreased water loss rate, MDA and ROS contents, and increased leaf water content and antioxidant enzyme activities under drought condition. Global transcriptomic analysis revealed that MtPHD6 reprogramed transcriptional networks in transgenic plants. Expression levels of ABA receptor PYR/PYLs, ZINC FINGER, AP2/EREBP and WRKY transcription factors were mainly up-regulated after transformation of MtPHD6. Interaction network analysis showed that ZINC FINGER, AP2/EREBP and WRKY interacted with each other and downstream stress induced proteins. Conclusions We proposed that ZINC FINGER, AP2/EREBP and WRKY transcription factors were activated through ABA dependent and independent pathways to increase drought tolerance of MtPHD6 transgenic plants.

scholarly journals Applying RGB- and Thermal-Based Vegetation Indices from UAVs for High-Throughput Field Phenotyping of Drought Tolerance in Forage Grasses

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Tom De Swaef ◽  
Wouter H. Maes ◽  
Jonas Aper ◽  
Joost Baert ◽  
Mathias Cougnon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Lolium Perenne ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Forage Grasses ◽  
Crop Water Stress Index ◽  
Ploidy Levels ◽  
Field Phenotyping

The persistence and productivity of forage grasses, important sources for feed production, are threatened by climate change-induced drought. Breeding programs are in search of new drought tolerant forage grass varieties, but those programs still rely on time-consuming and less consistent visual scoring by breeders. In this study, we evaluate whether Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based remote sensing can complement or replace this visual breeder score. A field experiment was set up to test the drought tolerance of genotypes from three common forage types of two different species: Festuca arundinacea, diploid Lolium perenne and tetraploid Lolium perenne. Drought stress was imposed by using mobile rainout shelters. UAV flights with RGB and thermal sensors were conducted at five time points during the experiment. Visual-based indices from different colour spaces were selected that were closely correlated to the breeder score. Furthermore, several indices, in particular H and NDLab, from the HSV (Hue Saturation Value) and CIELab (Commission Internationale de l’éclairage) colour space, respectively, displayed a broad-sense heritability that was as high or higher than the visual breeder score, making these indices highly suited for high-throughput field phenotyping applications that can complement or even replace the breeder score. The thermal-based Crop Water Stress Index CWSI provided complementary information to visual-based indices, enabling the analysis of differences in ecophysiological mechanisms for coping with reduced water availability between species and ploidy levels. All species/types displayed variation in drought stress tolerance, which confirms that there is sufficient variation for selection within these groups of grasses. Our results confirmed the better drought tolerance potential of Festuca arundinacea, but also showed which Lolium perenne genotypes are more tolerant.

scholarly journals The Arabidopsis Cys2/His2 zinc finger transcription factor ZAT18 is a positive regulator of plant tolerance to drought stress

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (11) ◽  
pp. 2991-3005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingzhu Yin ◽  
Yanping Wang ◽  
Lihua Zhang ◽  
Jinzhu Li ◽  
Wenli Quan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Zinc Finger Protein ◽  
Leaf Water ◽  
Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Antioxidant Enzyme Activities ◽  
Sequencing Analysis ◽  
Plant Tolerance ◽  
Drought Treatment ◽  
Positive Regulator

Abstract Environmental stress poses a global threat to plant growth and reproduction, especially drought stress. Zinc finger proteins comprise a family of transcription factors that play essential roles in response to various abiotic stresses. Here, we found that ZAT18 (At3g53600), a nuclear C2H2 zinc finger protein, was transcriptionally induced by dehydration stress. Overexpression (OE) of ZAT18 in Arabidopsis improved drought tolerance while mutation of ZAT18 resulted in decreased plant tolerance to drought stress. ZAT18 was preferentially expressed in stems, siliques, and vegetative rosette leaves. Subcellular location results revealed that ZAT18 protein was predominantly localized in the nucleus. ZAT18 OE plants exhibited less leaf water loss, lower content of reactive oxygen species (ROS), higher leaf water content, and higher antioxidant enzyme activities after drought treatment when compared with the wild type (WT). RNA sequencing analysis showed that 423 and 561 genes were transcriptionally modulated by the ZAT18 transgene before and after drought treatment, respectively. Pathway enrichment analysis indicated that hormone metabolism, stress, and signaling were over-represented in ZAT18 OE lines. Several stress-responsive genes including COR47, ERD7, LEA6, and RAS1, and hormone signaling transduction-related genes including JAZ7 and PYL5 were identified as putative target genes of ZAT18. Taken together, ZAT18 functions as a positive regulator and plays a crucial role in the plant response to drought stress.

scholarly journals Research Advances on Tall Fescue Salt Tolerance: From Root Signaling to Molecular and Metabolic Adjustment

2017 ◽  
Vol 142 (5) ◽  
pp. 337-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick Amombo ◽  
Huiying Li ◽  
Jinmin Fu
Keyword(s):  
Salinity Stress ◽  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Salt Tolerant ◽  
Cool Season ◽  
Abiotic Stress Factors ◽  
Metabolic Adjustment

Soil salinity is one of the major abiotic stress factors that constrain plant growth and limit crop productivity. About a quarter of the global land area is affected by salinity; therefore, there is increased need to develop salt-tolerant crops. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is one of the most important cool-season turfgrasses, which has medium tolerance to salinity and has a promising potential to be used as a turfgrass under saline conditions. However, up to now, the maximum use of tall fescue under salinity stress is still limited by inadequate scientific literature. Recent studies have attempted to identify various adaptive responses to salinity stress at molecular, cellular, metabolic, and physiological levels in tall fescue. The successful integration of information concerning signal sensing, molecular tools with recent advances in -omics would certainly provide a clue for creating salt-tolerant tall fescue. Because salinity limits water availability to plants via hindering water absorption, and by inducing physiological drought, here we review and propose a probable mechanism of tall fescue response to salinity stress and to similar effects induced by drought based on published literature.

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