Surviving a Dry Future: Abscisic Acid (ABA)-Mediated Plant Mechanisms for Conserving Water under Low Humidity

Angiosperms are able to respond rapidly to the first sign of dry conditions, a decrease in air humidity, more accurately described as an increase in the vapor pressure deficit between the leaf and the atmosphere (VPD), by abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated stomatal closure. The genes underlying this respo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plants (Basel) 2017-11, Vol.6 (4), p.54
Main Authors: Sussmilch, Frances C, McAdam, Scott A M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED)
Abscisic acid
abscisic acid (ABA)
Angiosperms
Climate change
Crop production
Drought
Drought resistance
evolution
Humidity
Plant breeding
Review
sensing water status
Stomata
Vapor pressure
vapor pressure deficit (VPD)
Water conservation
water deficit stress
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Summary:Angiosperms are able to respond rapidly to the first sign of dry conditions, a decrease in air humidity, more accurately described as an increase in the vapor pressure deficit between the leaf and the atmosphere (VPD), by abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated stomatal closure. The genes underlying this response offer valuable candidates for targeted selection of crop varieties with improved drought tolerance, a critical goal for current plant breeding programs, to maximize crop production in drier and increasingly marginalized environments, and meet the demands of a growing population in the face of a changing climate. Here, we review current understanding of the genetic mechanisms underpinning ABA-mediated stomatal closure, a key means for conserving water under dry conditions, examine how these mechanisms evolved, and discuss what remains to be investigated.
ISSN:2223-7747
2223-7747
DOI:10.3390/plants6040054