Plant developmental responses to climate change

Abstract

Climate change is multi-faceted, and includes changing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, rising temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and increasing frequency of extreme weather events. Here, we focus on the effects of rising atmospheric CO concentrations, rising temperature, and drought stress and their interaction on plant developmental processes in leaves, roots, and in reproductive structures. While in some cases these responses are conserved across species, such as decreased root elongation, perturbation of root growth angle and reduced seed yield in response to drought, or an increase in root biomass in shallow soil in response to elevated CO, most responses are variable within and between species and are dependent on developmental stage. These variable responses include species-specific thresholds that arrest development of reproductive structures, reduce root growth rate and the rate of leaf initiation and expansion in response to elevated temperature. Leaf developmental responses to elevated CO vary by cell type and by species. Variability also exists between C and C species in response to elevated CO, especially in terms of growth and seed yield stimulation. At the molecular level, significantly less is understood regarding conservation and variability in molecular mechanisms underlying these traits. Abscisic acid-mediated changes in cell wall expansion likely underlie reductions in growth rate in response to drought, and changes in known regulators of flowering time likely underlie altered reproductive transitions in response to elevated temperature and CO. Genes that underlie most other organ or tissue-level responses have largely only been identified in a single species in response to a single stress and their level of conservation is unknown. We conclude that there is a need for further research regarding the molecular mechanisms of plant developmental responses to climate change factors in general, and that this lack of data is particularly prevalent in the case of interactive effects of multiple climate change factors. As future growing conditions will likely expose plants to multiple climate change factors simultaneously, with a sum negative influence on global agriculture, further research in this area is critical.

Genome-wide characterization of the aldehyde dehydrogenase gene superfamily in soybean and its potential role in drought stress response

“…Among abiotic stresses, drought is considered to have the harshest, negative effects on plant growth and development, which can lead to significant losses in productivity [4, 5]. Rising global temperatures and decreases in available water resources in the world will exacerbate the negative impact of the drought stress on plants [6, 7]. Aldehydes are both intermediates in and byproducts of some fundamental metabolic pathways associated with carbohydrate, amino acid, and lipid metabolism [8, 9].…”

Losing the Warning Signal: Drought Compromises the Cross-Talk of Signaling Molecules in Quercus ilex Exposed to Ozone

“…Mediterranean plants are threatened by several abiotic stress factors [e.g., warming, drought, tropospheric ozone (O 3 ), UV radiation, salinity] due to environmental changes characterized by new types of stress conditions and stress combinations, which are expected to be more extreme in the Mediterranean than in other areas worldwide (Matesanz and Valladares, 2014; Gray and Brady, 2016; Guidi et al, 2017). Today, drought is the major factor limiting plant performance, and revealing the mechanisms that enable plants to survive or acclimatize to such conditions is crucial (Claeys and Inzé, 2013).…”

Cross-Talk between Physiological and Metabolic Adjustments Adopted by Quercus cerris to Mitigate the Effects of Severe Drought and Realistic Future Ozone Concentrations

“…Climate change, encompassing shifts in temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric composition, represents a moving target for plant acclimation and/or adaptation [1]. The Mediterranean basin is considered a global biodiversity hotspot [2], even though natural (i.e., increase in the average temperature, heat waves, drought), as well as anthropogenic factors, such as increased tropospheric ozone (O 3 ), are expected to be harsher in this area in the near future [3].…”

“…However, the simultaneous imposition of O 3 and drought can induce responses considerably different from those observed when each stressor is applied independently. The simultaneous effect of drought and O 3 can affect the plant performances stimulating antagonistic [1], additive, or synergistic responses [7]. The effect of O 3 under conditions of low water availability has been poorly investigated for tree species.…”