Effective Use of Water in Crop Plants in Dryland Agriculture: Implications of Reactive Oxygen Species and Antioxidative System

Abstract

Under dryland conditions, annual and perennial food crops are exposed to dry spells, severely affecting crop productivity by limiting available soil moisture at critical and sensitive growth stages. Climate variability continues to be the primary cause of uncertainty, often making timing rather than quantity of precipitation the foremost concern. Therefore, mitigation and management of stress experienced by plants due to limited soil moisture are crucial for sustaining crop productivity under current and future harsher environments. Hence, the information generated so far through multiple investigations on mechanisms inducing drought tolerance in plants needs to be translated into tools and techniques for stress management. Scope to accomplish this exists in the inherent capacity of plants to manage stress at the cellular level through various mechanisms. One of the most extensively studied but not conclusive physiological phenomena is the balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and scavenging them through an antioxidative system (AOS), which determines a wide range of damage to the cell, organ, and the plant. In this context, this review aims to examine the possible roles of the ROS-AOS balance in enhancing the effective use of water (EUW) by crops under water-limited dryland conditions. We refer to EUW as biomass produced by plants with available water under soil moisture stress rather than per unit of water (WUE). We hypothesize that EUW can be enhanced by an appropriate balance between water-saving and growth promotion at the whole-plant level during stress and post-stress recovery periods. The ROS-AOS interactions play a crucial role in water-saving mechanisms and biomass accumulation, resulting from growth processes that include cell division, cell expansion, photosynthesis, and translocation of assimilates. Hence, appropriate strategies for manipulating these processes through genetic improvement and/or application of exogenous compounds can provide practical solutions for improving EUW through the optimized ROS-AOS balance under water-limited dryland conditions. This review deals with the role of ROS-AOS in two major EUW determining processes, namely water use and plant growth. It describes implications of the ROS level or content, ROS-producing, and ROS-scavenging enzymes based on plant water status, which ultimately affects photosynthetic efficiency and growth of plants.

Overexpression of DfRaf from Fragrant Woodfern (Dryopteris fragrans) Enhances High-Temperature Tolerance in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)

“…In comparison with the WT and VC, the MDA content of DfRaf-OV-L2 and DfRaf-OV-L6 was significantly decreased under heat treatment ( Figure 8 f). Under abiotic stress, ROS will accumulate rapidly in plants, and high concentrations of ROS will directly affect the normal development of cells [ 48 ]. To maintain intracellular ROS balance, plants have evolved a series of enzymatic and non-enzymatic ROS-scavenging mechanisms.…”

Omics Path to Increasing Productivity in Less-Studied Crops Under Changing Climate—Lentil a Case Study

“…Heat stress is often accompanied with water-deficit conditions, and these two factors, independently or in combination, frequently limit the growth and productivity of lentils ( Sehgal et al, 2017 ; Rane et al, 2022 ). Although lentil is moderately tolerant to drought, intermittent and terminal drought stress negatively impacts productivity during the grain filling ( Sánchez-Gómez et al, 2019 ).…”

“…However, comprehensive downregulation in the expression of genes involved in photorespiration, photosynthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism was observed in the tolerant than the sensitive genotype ( Singh et al, 2017c ; Morgil et al, 2019 ). Since drought tolerance is an outcome of intricate molecular mechanisms associated with several genes, detailed investigations focusing on the most promising target genes are needed ( Rane et al, 2022 ).…”

Morphological and Physiological Responses of Melia azedarach Seedlings of Different Provenances to Drought Stress

“…Water is not only the source of all life, but also the material for plant growth, since it affects the growth of plants and is an important component of the plant itself [1]. Drought stress in plants results from an insufficient amount of water available for the maintenance of normal physiological processes, such as photosynthesis, respiration, and cell, tissue, organ, and plant homeostasis [2]. According to most scientific sources, drylands account for 41% of the world's land area [3].…”