Date palm diverts organic solutes for root osmotic adjustment and protects leaves from oxidative damage in early drought acclimation
Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important crop in arid regions and it is well adapted to desert ecosystems. To understand its remarkable ability to grow and yield in water-limited environments, we conducted experiments in which water was withheld for up to 4 weeks. In response to drought, root, rather than leaf, osmotic strength increased, with organic solutes such as sugars and amino acids contributing more to the osmolyte increase than minerals. Consistently, carbon and amino acid metabolism was acclimated toward biosynthesis at both the transcriptional and translational levels. In leaves, a remodeling of membrane systems was observed, suggesting changes in thylakoid lipid composition which, together with the restructuring of the photosynthetic apparatus, indicated an acclimation preventing oxidative damage. Thus, xerophilic date palm avoids oxidative damage under drought by combined prevention and rapid detoxification of oxygen radicals. Although minerals were expected to serve as cheap key osmotics, date palm also relies on organic osmolytes for osmotic adjustment in the roots during early drought acclimation. The diversion of these resources away from growth is consistent with the date palm strategy of generally slow growth in harsh environments and clearly indicates a trade-off between growth and stress-related physiological responses.
Authors
- Baoguo Du (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4805-7458)
- Jana Barbro Winkler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7092-9742)
- Peter Ache (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2902-7552)
- Bastian L. Franzisky (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2590-2118)
- Thomas Lux (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5543-1911)
- Jaakko Kangasjärvi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8959-1809)
- Sébastien Carpentier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7389-6405)
- Michael Reichelt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6691-6500)
- Philip J. White (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0827-288X)
- Klaus Mayer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6484-1077)
- Rainer Hedrich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3224-1362)
- Heinz Rennenberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6224-2927)
- Jörg‐Peter Schnitzler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9825-867X)
- Axel Mithöfer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5229-6913)
- Christoph‐Martin Geilfus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9820-8111)
- Jörg Kudla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8238-767X)
- Maxim Messerer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0554-5045)
- Heike M Mueller
Institutions
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- James Hutton Institute (GB)
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- University of Münster (DE)
- Helsinki Institute of Physics (FI)
- Kohler (New Zealand) (NZ)
- Helmholtz Zentrum München (DE)
- Mianyang Normal University (CN)
- Institute of Forest Science (RU)
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (DE)
- Protéomique, Réponse Inflammatoire et Spectrométrie de Masse (FR)
- Hochschule Geisenheim University (DE)
- KU Leuven (BE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Experimental Botany
- Published
- 2024-11-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erae456
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Leaf Properties and Growth Measurement
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.40
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- King Saud University