title: Global analysis of plasticity in turgor loss point, a key drought tolerance trait.
abstract: Many species face increasing drought under climate change. Plasticity has been predicted to strongly influence species' drought responses, but broad patterns in plasticity have not been examined for key drought tolerance traits, including turgor loss or 'wilting' point (πtlp ). As soil dries, plants shift πtlp by accumulating solutes (i.e. 'osmotic adjustment'). We conducted the first global analysis of plasticity in Δπtlp and related traits for 283 wild and crop species in ecosystems worldwide. Δπtlp was widely prevalent but moderate (-0.44 MPa), accounting for 16% of post-drought πtlp. Thus, pre-drought πtlp was a considerably stronger predictor of post-drought πtlp across species of wild plants. For cultivars of certain crops Δπtlp accounted for major differences in post-drought πtlp. Climate was correlated with pre- and post-drought πtlp, but not Δπtlp. Thus, despite the wide prevalence of plasticity, πtlp measured in one season can reliably characterise most species' constitutive drought tolerances and distributions relative to water supply.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, California, 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Megan K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Bartlett
authors.forename: Ya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Nissa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kreidler
authors.forename: Shanwen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Rico
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ardy
authors.forename: Kunfang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Lawren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sack
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D002980:Climate; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000502:physiology*; D055864:Droughts; D017753:Ecosystem; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D014867:Water / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: drought tolerance; ecophysiology; ecosystem water availability; mixed effects models; osmotic adjustment; plasticity; turgor loss point