Submergence of rice (Oryza sativa) by flash flooding is a major constraint to rice production in Asia. Rice cultivars vary in their capacity to tolerate complete submergence; quantitative trait loci analyses have revealed that a large portion of this variation in submergence tolerance can be explained by one locus (Sub1) on chromosome 9. Two recently published papers (Takeshi Fukao et al. and K...

Plants require water for growth and development, but excessive water negatively affects their productivity and viability. Flash floods occasionally result in complete submergence of plants in agricultural and natural ecosystems. When immersed in water, plants encounter multiple stresses including low oxygen, low light, nutrient deficiency, and high risk of infection. As floodwaters subside, sub...

Twenty five Sri Lankan modern rice cultivars were screened for submergence tolerance at seedling and vegetative stages. An experiment was carried out at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka during May to September, 2011 according to the randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 4 replicates and each replicate contained 20 plants to evaluate sub...

In this study, effects from application of protocatechuic acid (PA) and vanillic acid (VA) and their mixture on the submergence tolerance of rice were examined. The treatment of 0.01 mM PA and VA did not show significant increase of rice growth as compared to the controls. However, at higher concentrations (0.1-1.0 mM), rice shoot was elevated in submergence by 20.8-22.4%. The survival percenta...

Responses of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) and pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens) saplings in photosynthesis and growth to long-term periodic submergence in situ in the hydro-fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir (TGDR) were studied. Water treatments of periodic deep submergence (DS) and moderate submergence (MS) in situ were imposed on 2-year-old bald cypress and pond cypress s...

Autophagy involves massive degradation of intracellular components and functions as a conserved system that helps cells to adapt to adverse conditions. In mammals, hypoxia rapidly stimulates autophagy as a cell survival response. Here, we examine the function of autophagy in the regulation of the plant response to submergence, an abiotic stress that leads to hypoxia and anaerobic respiration in...

Submergence and drought are major constraints to rice (Oryza sativa) production in rain-fed farmlands, both of which can occur sequentially during a single crop cycle. SUB1A, an ERF transcription factor found in limited rice accessions, dampens ethylene production and gibberellic acid responsiveness during submergence, economizing carbohydrate reserves and significantly prolonging endurance. He...

Complete submergence represses photosynthesis and aerobic respiration, causing rapid mortality in most terrestrial plants. However, some plants have evolved traits allowing them to survive prolonged flooding, such as species of the genus Rorippa, close relatives of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). We studied plant survival, changes in carbohydrate and metabolite concentrations, and transcrip...

One hundred and sixty rice varieties from the tidal and flood prone areas of south and south East Asian countries were analyzed. Samples sizes were: 50 varieties from Bangladesh (deepwater, tidal and flood prone rice and modern varieties), 14 varieties from India (flood prone rice), 16 varieties from Sri Lanka (flood prone rice), 7 varieties from Vietnam (tidal varieties), 69 varieties from Ind...