Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Correspondence , Anthony E. Emails: anthonymelton boisestate. Climate change presents distinct ecological and physiological challenges to plants as extreme climate events become more common. Understanding how species have adapted to drought, especially ecologically important nonmodel organisms, will be crucial to elucidate potential biological pathways for drought adaptation and inform conservation strategies.
Aquaporin AQP genes and their promoter sequences were mined from the draft genome to predict mechanisms regulating gene expression and generate hypotheses on key genes underpinning drought response. Promoter and phylogenetic analyses revealed putative duplicates of A. We found that the genome of this species is enriched in Aquaporin genes and that homologs have likely diverged experienced promoter element divergence, potentially contributing to drought adaptation. Plants respond to water deficit through mechanisms that reduce water loss, increase water uptake, and alter hydraulic conductivity Sharp et al.
Aquaporins AQP are a large family of proteins known to function in the transport of water and other molecules across cell membranes Yakata et al. Genes from each subfamily tend to move water or other substrate depending on their NPA motifs. Some AQPs, such as NIP s, have acquired a mutation in their NPA motif, such as alanine to leucine, which confer the ability to move substrates such as urea or ammonium reviewed in Chaumont et al. Most of the water plants take from the soil is lost to the atmosphere via transpiration Steudle, Various environmental and internal changes such as in soil moisture, evaporative demand, salinity, and ABA can alter the expression and activity of AQPs and plant hydraulic conductivity Afzal et al.
Understanding the mechanisms that promote expression of AQPs would allow rapid identification of key AQP genes underpinning drought adaptation and provide a tool to screen natural populations to predict their abilities to cope with climate change. Such endeavors are especially important for natural habitats that are dominated by few foundational species, including the threatened sagebrush steppe ecosystem in western North America Davies et al. Promoter sequence analyses, such as those in Lopez et al.
Researchers have primarily focused on studying the roles and importance of AQPs using crop and model plants; very little effort has been devoted to species occurring in natural environments. Artemisia tridentata Nutt. This complex evolutionary history, in conjunction with limited resources available for research, has complicated genetic studies of this taxon.
