Plant domestication led to a loss of genetic variation in many crops, due to the excessive emphasis in the selection of edible organs (root, leaf, stem or fruit) and the low selection pressure for other traits in the cultivated environment. This \'genetic erosion\' led to loss of alleles associated with resistance to environmental stresses, such as drought and salinity, which can in turn culminate in productivity losses. In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), it is possible to tap into a reservoir of valuable genetic variation in its wild relatives. Identification of genetic variants associated with tomato domestication, and with stress resistance mechanisms which may have been lost during domestication, could be used to aid in breeding programs. In the present work, which was divided into two chapters, we carried out crosses between the wild species S. pennellii and the miniature tomato cultivar Micro-Tom (MT) and created two introgression lines (ILs), one with reduced organ size and another with increased drought tolerance. In the first chapter, we report the characterization and mapping of the IL denominated as Tiny organs and reduced yield (Toy). Toy harbors a S. pennellii genome segment on chromosome 7 and presents a considerable reduction in both vegetative (leaves) and reproductive (fruit) organs. We discuss how this could be a relevant trait underpinning tomato domestication. In the second chapter, we describe the drought tolerance mechanism of the IL Water Economy Locus in Lycopersicon (Well). Well harbors a S. pennellii genome segment on chromosome 1 and shows lower hydraulic conductance, possibly related to decreased xylem vessel size. The results shown suggest that this lower hydraulic conductance promotes a disturbance in the soil-plant-atmosphere hydraulic continuum leading to changes in stomatal behavior, which, in turn, are probably related to the delayed wilting of Well under conditions of water deficit. / A domesticação das plantas levou a uma perda de variação genética em muitas culturas, devido à ênfase excessiva na seleção de órgãos comestíveis (raiz, folha, caule ou fruto) e a baixa pressão de seleção para outras características no ambiente cultivado. Essa \"erosão genética\" levou à perda de alelos associados à resistência de diversos estresses ambientais, como seca e salinidade, os quais, por sua vez, podem conduzir a perdas significativas na produtividade das plantas. Entretanto, no tomate (Solanum lycopersicum L.), é possível acessar um banco valioso de variação genética nas espécies selvagens relacionadas. Assim, a identificação de variantes genéticas associadas ao processo de domesticação do tomateiro e a mecanismos de resistência a estresses ambientais, os quais podem ter sido perdidos durante a domesticação, pode auxiliar em programas de melhoramento do tomateiro e de outras culturas de interesse comercial. Diante disso, no presente trabalho, o qual foi dividido em dois capítulos, realizamos cruzamentos entre a espécie selvagem, S. pennellii, e a cultivar miniatura de tomateiro Micro-Tom (MT) para criamos duas linhas de introgressão (ILs), uma com tamanho de órgão reduzido e outra com maior tolerância à seca. No primeiro capítulo, relatamos a caracterização e mapeamento da IL denominada como Tiny organs and reduced yield (Toy). O genótipo Toy carrega um segmento do genoma de S. pennellii no cromossomo 7 e apresenta uma considerável redução em órgãos vegetativos (folhas) e reprodutivos (frutos). Os resultados obtidos conduziram a uma discussão de como esse genótipo pode ser relevante para a domesticação do tomateiro, devido ao seu impacto no tamanho de diversos orgão. Por outro lado, no segundo capítulo, descrevemos o mecanismo de tolerância à seca da IL Water Economy Locus em Lycopersicon (Well). Plantas Well carregam um segmento do genoma de S. pennellii no cromossomo 1 e exibem uma menor condutância hidráulica, possivelmente relacionada ao tamanho reduzido do vaso xilemático. A menor condutância hidráulica do genótipo Well conduz a perturbações no contínuo solo/planta/atmosfera levando a mudança no comportamento estomático, que, por sua vez, provavelmente está relacionado a maior resistência ao murchamento apresentada por esse material em condições de déficit hídrico.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Botany))-- University of Limpopo, 2013 / The aim of the study was to identify drought tolerant South African soybean cultivars for cultivation where water is a limited resource. Soybean [Glycine max. (L.) Merr] is one of the most important legumes in the world. A lot of attention has been focused on soybean cultivation in South Africa recently. Soybean production is mainly affected by several biotic and abiotic factors which reduce the yield and quality of the crop. Six South African soybean cultivars (LS 677, LS 678, Mopanie, Sonop, Knap and Pan 1564) and two American cultivars (R01 416 and R01 581) were carefully studied for morphological and physiological markers which contribute to drought tolerance. The study was conducted at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop campus). Soybean plants were grown in a glasshouse in a randomised block design given same amounts of nutrients and differing amounts of water (limited and overwatering). Data was collected at R3 growth stage by measuring several morphological (stem length, leaf surface area, flowers and seeds counts) and physiological (percentage chlorophyll, moisture content, total phenolics, total flavonoids, ureide content and antioxidant activity) parameters. An anatomical study was also carried out on the transverse sections of leaves, roots, leaf stalk and nodules. The different cultivars reacted differently to the three water treatments. LS 678 produced the tallest plants whereas those of Pan 1564 were the shortest. Water stress affected plants by reducing the number of flowers produced, the leaf surface area as well as the relative leaf water content. The moisture content of the growth medium was reduced faster as the plants matured and it was also lowered by the limited water availability. Percentage chlorophyll is another trait which was affected by water limitation. Cultivars with high phenolic and flavonoids content were associated with high antioxidant activity and slightly yielded higher than the others. The anatomical transverse sections of the roots and petioles have shown some secondary growth. The anatomy of the nodules of Mopani has shown some interesting differences in response to the three treatments. Limited water decreased xii the size of the vascular tissue and sclerenchyma as a result altering the functionality of the nodule. The anatomy of Sonop’s petiole had a thickened sclerenchymatous bundle sheath covering the phloem tissue. The sclerenchyma tissue is thought to guard against loss of water. The cross section of the leaf had a double layer of palisade mesophyll (upper surface) and only a single layer of spongy mesophyll (lower surface). In addition, the mesophyll and the epidermal cells of Mopani appeared much thicker. In terms of yield, there was no cultivar which yielded the highest but Mopani yielded the lowest. Since Mopani was low yielding, the main focus of the discussion was on the features (morphological, physiological and anatomical) of Mopani which can be associated with drought susceptibility. Some of these features include reduced stem length, large leaf surface area, low relative leaf water content, low growth medium moisture content and low antioxidant activity.

The economic feasibility of producing biomass-based fuels requires high-yielding feedstocks to supply biomass to biorefineries. Populus trees are a potential biomass feedstock due to their high yield, but their high water requirement limits productivity under drought conditions. The number of genes controlling drought tolerance, and the long generation time for perennial species, slows cultivar development. Accelerated domestication proposes using the sequenced Populus genome to quickly incorporate target traits into productive clones by transgenesis. Six putative drought tolerance transcription factors: DREB2A, DREB2B, AtMYB, AREB1/ABF2, MYB, and NAC, had been previously identified and manipulated in eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides). Three constructs of each gene were transformed into a P. deltoides background clone, including constitutive overexpression (OE), drought inducible OE, and knockdown. This greenhouse study examines the effect of these previously transformed constructs on drought tolerance by characterizing leaf abscission, leaf water potential, and growth under drought and well-watered conditions. AREB1/ABF2 constitutive OE lost significantly fewer leaves under drought than the Vector control, and had one of the lowest rates of leaf loss overall. Both DREB2A inducible OE and AREB1/ABF2 constitutive OE plants were more productive than the Vector control under drought conditions. MYB inducible OE was a productive construct and initially appeared to be drought tolerant. It is possible that this construct experienced xylem cavitation early on due to the severity of drought experienced by the large trees containing this construct. DREB2A inducible OE, AREB1/ABF2 constitutive OE, and MYB inducible OE were the most productive constructs as well as being likely to confer drought tolerance. Field trials would be the next step, providing a clearer picture of how these constructs would perform under natural conditions.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2007. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2006. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.

The negative impact of climate change on agricultural production is consistently increasing all over the world. As a result of these changes, the yields of some crops have been decreasing. The main problems include frequent weather changes, especially long periods of drought accompanied by high temperatures. The aim of this diploma thesis was to assess the effect of water deficit on offshoot germination and longevity of selected species of grasses and clovers. The evaluation of resistance to water deficit was carried out using both laboratory and pot experiments. The results of these experiments were used to evaluate the drought resistance of the tested species of grasses and legumes. Based on the proven drought resistance, appropriate species and varieties have been recommended for cultivation in conditions of water deficit. The issue of drought resistance is to be paid more and more attention in the future. According to most forecasts, increasingly long periods of drought are likely to occur. For this reason, there will be the need for crops and varieties that best resist to various abiotic stresses.

The main factors affecting the yield and the quality of grassland are nutrient availability and water regime. In nature and of course in agriculture, water is the most important factor influencing plant growth and reproduction. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the effect of water regime on germination of selected grass species. We have focused on the following grass species, suitable for use in energy: Dactylis glomerata L. Padánia cultivar, Phalaroides arundinacea L., Chrastava cultivar and Agropyron elongatum L. Under water stress condition, the highest germination rate of 69 % was observed in Agropyron elongatum L., followed by Dactylis glomerata L. (54, 6 %). The lowest germination rate of 28, 6 % was recorded in Phalaroides arundinacea L. This study also compares dry matter yields of selected species during spring harvest. Average yield was 3,3 t.ha-1 in the first year. This work is based on authors own measurement and on the information obtained from Czech hydrometeorological institute.

No description available.

Drought stress was studied in rice (Oryza sativa) and maize (Zea mays) to identify drought-responsive genes and associated biological processes. One experiment with rice examined drought responses in vegetative and reproductive tissues and identified drought-responsive genes in each tissue type. The results showed that brief periods of acute drought stress at or near anthesis reduced photosynthetic efficiency and ultimately lowered grain yield. Yield was reduced as a result both of fewer spikelets developed and of lower spikelet fertility. Affymetrix arrays were used to analyze global gene expression in the transcriptomes of rice vegetative and reproductive tissue. Comparative analysis of the expressed genes indicated that the vegetative and reproductive tissues responded differently to drought stress. An experiment was conducted with maize, using GS-FLX pyrosequencing to identify differentially expressed genes in vegetative and reproductive tissues; and these results were compared with those from the just-described rice transcriptome. Some of the drought-responsive genes in the maize reproductive tissue were validated by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The differentially expressed genes common to both maize and rice were further analyzed by gene ontology analysis to reveal core biological processes involved in drought responses. In both species, drought caused a transition from protein synthesis to degradation, and photosynthesis was one of the most severely affected metabolic pathways. In a validating experiment, a drought-responsive transcription factor found in rice and dubbed HIGHER YIELD RICE (HYR) was constitutively expressed in rice, and the transgenic HYR plants were studied. Under well-watered conditions, the HYR plants developed higher rates of photosynthesis, greater levels of soluble sugars (glucose, fructose, and sucrose), more biomass, and higher yield. They also exhibited a drought-resistant phenotype, with higher water use efficiency, photosynthesis, and relative leaf water content under drought stress. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the potential value of newer technologies for identifying genes that might impart drought resistance and for using such genes to make crops more productive either in the presence or in the absence of drought stress. / Ph. D.

No description available.