Manipulating stomatal density enhances drought tolerance without deleterious effect on nutrient uptake.
Manipulation of stomatal density was investigated as a potential tool for enhancing drought tolerance or nutrient uptake. Drought tolerance and soil water retention were assessed using Arabidopsis epidermal patterning factor mutants manipulated to have increased or decreased stomatal density. Root nutrient uptake via mass flow was monitored under differing plant watering regimes using nitrogen-15 ((15) N) isotope and mass spectrometry. Plants with less than half of their normal complement of stomata, and correspondingly reduced levels of transpiration, conserve soil moisture and are highly drought tolerant but show little or no reduction in shoot nitrogen concentrations especially when water availability is restricted. By contrast, plants with over twice the normal density of stomata have a greater capacity for nitrogen uptake, except when water availability is restricted. We demonstrate the possibility of producing plants with reduced transpiration which have increased drought tolerance, with little or no loss of nutrient uptake. We demonstrate that increasing transpiration can enhance nutrient uptake when water is plentiful.
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.
Christopher
C
Hepworth
Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
Timothy
T
Doheny-Adams
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.
Lee
L
Hunt
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.
Duncan D
DD
Cameron
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.
Julie E
JE
Gray
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000502:physiology; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D055864:Droughts; D006813:Humidity; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000378:metabolism*; D054046:Plant Stomata / Q000502:physiology*; D012987:Soil
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D012987:Soil; D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen
Arabidopsis thaliana; drought tolerance; epidermal patterning factor (EPF); mass flow; nitrate; stomata; transpiration; water use efficiency