title: A footprint of desiccation tolerance in the genome of Xerophyta viscosa.
abstract: Desiccation tolerance is common in seeds and various other organisms, but only a few angiosperm species possess vegetative desiccation tolerance. These 'resurrection species' may serve as ideal models for the ultimate design of crops with enhanced drought tolerance. To understand the molecular and genetic mechanisms enabling vegetative desiccation tolerance, we produced a high-quality whole-genome sequence for the resurrection plant Xerophyta viscosa and assessed transcriptome changes during its dehydration. Data revealed induction of transcripts typically associated with desiccation tolerance in seeds and involvement of orthologues of ABI3 and ABI5, both key regulators of seed maturation. Dehydration resulted in both increased, but predominantly reduced, transcript abundance of genomic 'clusters of desiccation-associated genes' (CoDAGs), reflecting the cessation of growth that allows for the expression of desiccation tolerance. Vegetative desiccation tolerance in X. viscosa was found to be uncoupled from drought-induced senescence. We provide strong support for the hypothesis that vegetative desiccation tolerance arose by redirection of genetic information from desiccation-tolerant seeds.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.|Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, 7701 Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Maria-Cecília D
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0083-0904
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mariana A S
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Artur
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maia
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.|Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eef
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jonkheer
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.|Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martijn F L
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Derks
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.|Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Harm
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nijveen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, Queensland University of Technology, PO Box 2434, Queensland 4001, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, Queensland University of Technology, PO Box 2434, Queensland 4001, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Sagadevan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Mundree
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, 50829 Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Bioscience, Wageningen Plant Research International, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Thamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hesselink
authors.affiliation: Bioscience, Wageningen Plant Research International, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elio G W M
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Schijlen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wilco
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0228-169X
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ligterink
authors.affiliation: USDA-ARS-MWA-PGRU, 205 Curtis Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Melvin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, 7701 Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Jill M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Farrant
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henk W M
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Hilhorst
mesh_terms: D003890:Desiccation; D055864:Droughts; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins