Molecular and physiological responses to desiccation indicate the abscisic acid pathway is conserved in the peat moss, Sphagnum

Candida Nibau, Willem Van De Koot, Dominic Spiliotis, Kevin Williams, Tina Kramaric, Manfred Beckmann, Luis Mur, Yuji Hiwatashi, John H. Doonan

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Abstract

Mosses of the genus Sphagnum are the main components of peatlands, a major carbon-storing ecosystem. Changes in precipitation patterns are predicted to affect water relations in this ecosystem, but the effect of desiccation on the physiological and molecular processes in Sphagnum is still largely unexplored. Here we show that different Sphagnum species have differential physiological and molecular responses to desiccation but, surprisingly, this is not directly correlated with their position in relation to the water table. In addition, the expression of drought responsive genes is increased upon water withdrawal in all species. This increase in gene expression is accompanied by an increase in abscisic acid (ABA), supporting a role for ABA during desiccation responses in Sphagnum. Not only do ABA levels increase upon desiccation, but Sphagnum plants pre-treated with ABA display increased tolerance to desiccation, suggesting that ABA levels play a functional role in the response. In addition, many of the ABA signalling components are present in Sphagnum and we demonstrate, by complementation in Physcomitrium patens, that Sphagnum ABI3 is functionally conserved. The data presented here, therefore, support a conserved role for ABA in desiccation responses in Sphagnum.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4576-4591
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Experimental Botany
Volume73
Issue number13
Early online date06 Apr 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Jul 2022

Keywords

  • ABA
  • chlorophyll fluorescence
  • desiccation
  • drought
  • moss
  • peat
  • relative water content
  • Sphagnum

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