From leaf to whole-plant water use efficiency (WUE) in complex canopies: Limitations of leaf WUE as a selection target

Direct and indirect selection on flowering time, water-use efficiency (WUE, δ 13C), and WUE plasticity to drought in Arabidopsis thaliana

Flowering time and water-use efficiency (WUE) are two ecological traits that are important for plant drought response. To understand the evolutionary significance of natural genetic variation in flowering time, WUE, and WUE plasticity to drought in Arabidopsis thaliana, we addressed the following questions: (1) How are ecophysiological traits genetically correlated within and between different ...

Water stress of sugarbeet as related to leaf and canopy temperatures and to leaf Water content

Overexpression of the poplar NF-YB7 transcription factor confers drought tolerance and improves water-use efficiency in Arabidopsis

Water deficit is a serious environmental factor limiting the growth and productivity of plants worldwide. Improvement of drought tolerance and efficient water use are significant strategies to overcome this dilemma. In this study, a drought-responsive transcription factor, nuclear factor Y subunit B 7 (PdNF-YB7), induced by osmotic stress (PEG6000) and abscisic acid, was isolated from fast-grow...

Regulation of leaf hydraulics: from molecular to whole plant levels

The water status of plant leaves is dependent on both stomatal regulation and water supply from the vasculature to inner tissues. The present review addresses the multiple physiological and mechanistic facets of the latter process. Inner leaf tissues contribute to at least a third of the whole resistance to water flow within the plant. Physiological studies indicated that leaf hydraulic conduct...

Water-use responses of 'living fossil' conifers to CO2 enrichment in a simulated Cretaceous polar environment.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS During the Mesozoic, the polar regions supported coniferous forests that experienced warm climates, a CO(2)-rich atmosphere and extreme seasonal variations in daylight. How the interaction between the last two factors might have influenced water use of these conifers was investigated. An experimental approach was used to test the following hypotheses: (1) the expected benefi...