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. 2024 Mar 14;25(6):3306.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25063306.

Physiological and Molecular Modulations to Drought Stress in the Brassica Species

Mi-Jeong Yoo  1 , Yoojeong Hwang  1 , Yoo-Min Koh  2 , Fanchao Zhu  3 , Aaditya Sunil Deshpande  4 , Tyler Bechard  4 , Silvana Andreescu  4
Affiliations

Physiological and Molecular Modulations to Drought Stress in the Brassica Species

Mi-Jeong Yoo et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Climate change, particularly drought stress, significantly impacts plant growth and development, necessitating the development of resilient crops. This study investigated physiological and molecular modulations to drought stress between diploid parent species and their polyploid progeny in the Brassica species. While no significant phenotypic differences were observed among the six species, drought stress reduced growth parameters by 2.4% and increased oxidative stress markers by 1.4-fold. Drought also triggered the expression of genes related to stress responses and led to the accumulation of specific metabolites. We also conducted the first study of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) levels in leaves as a drought indicator. Lower levels of PFOS accumulation were linked to plants taking in less water under drought conditions. Both diploid and polyploid species responded to drought stress similarly, but there was a wide range of variation in their responses. In particular, responses were less variable in polyploid species than in diploid species. This suggests that their additional genomic components acquired through polyploidy may improve their flexibility to modulate stress responses. Despite the hybrid vigor common in polyploid species, Brassica polyploids demonstrated intermediate responses to drought stress. Overall, this study lays the framework for future omics-level research, including transcriptome and proteomic studies, to deepen our understanding of drought tolerance mechanisms in Brassica species.

Keywords: Brassica; PFOS; drought stress; polyploids; superoxide.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The triangle of U [42]. Underlined letters in parentheses represent the putative maternal parental genome in polyploids.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Morphological comparison between control and drought-stressed leaves in Brassica species. In each comparison, the left and right ones represent control and drought-stressed leaves, respectively.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of RWC between control and drought-stressed plants of Brassica species. Bra (A) = B. rapa (A), Bju (AB) = B. juncea (AB), Bni (B) = B. nigra (B), Bna (AC) = B. napus (AC), Bol (C) = B. oleracea (C), Bca (BC) = B. carinata (BC). Diploid species data were presented twice to compare the values of polyploids relative to those of their diploid parents. Data were presented as mean ± standard error. * = p-value < 0.05, ** = p-value < 0.01.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of MDA (A), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), (B) superoxide (O2−) measured with a biosensor (C) and spectrophotometric method (D) between control and drought-stressed plants of Brassica species. The averaged fold change was presented as a comparison among species (D). Data were presented as mean ± standard error. * = p-value < 0.05, ** = p-value < 0.01.
Figure 5
Figure 5
qRT-PCR results for four genes involved in ROS scavenging. The expression of each gene was normalized to an internal control actin gene (ACT1), and green and orange bars represent control and drought-stressed plants, respectively. Data were presented as mean ± standard error. * = p-value < 0.1, ** = p-value < 0.05, *** = p-value < 0.01.
Figure 6
Figure 6
qRT-PCR results of four genes known to be drought-responsive. The expression of each gene was normalized to an internal control actin gene (ACT1), and green and orange bars represent control and drought-stressed plants, respectively. Data were presented as mean ± standard error. * = p-value < 0.1, ** = p-value < 0.05, *** = p-value < 0.01.
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