Abstract
Abstract Climate change will lead to more frequent and severe drought periods which massively reduce crop production worldwide. Besides drought, nitrogen (N)‐deficiency is another critical threat to crop yield production. Drought and N‐deficiency both decrease photosynthesis and induce similar adaptive strategies such as longer roots, reduction of biomass, induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and antioxidative enzymes. Due to the overlapping response to N‐deficiency and drought, understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in cross‐stresses tolerance is crucial for breeding strategies and achieving multiple stress resistance and eventually more sustainable agriculture. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a mild N‐deficiency on drought stress tolerance of tomato plants ( Solanum lycopersicum L., cv. Moneymaker). Various morphological and physiological parameters such as dry biomass, root length, water potential, SPAD values, stomatal conductance, and compatible solutes accumulation (proline and sugar) were analyzed. Moreover, the expression of ROS scavenging marker genes, cytosolic ASCORBATE PEROXIDASES ( cAPX1 , cAPX2 , and cAPX3 ), were investigated. Our results showed that a former mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − ) enhances plant adaptive response to drought stress (4 days) when compared to the plants treated with adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − ). The improved adaptive response was reflected in higher aboveground biomass, longer root, increased specific leaf weight, enhanced stomatal conductance (without reducing water content), and higher leaf sugar content. Moreover, the APX1 gene showed a higher expression level compared to control under N‐deficiency and in combination with drought in the leaf, after a one‐week recovery period. Our finding highlights a potentially positive link between a former mild N‐deficiency and subsequent drought stress response in tomato. Combining the morphological and physiological response with underlying gene regulatory networks under consecutive stress, provide a powerful tool for improving multiple stress resistance in tomato which can be further transferred to other economically important crops.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Prior mild N deficiency enhanced the adaptive response to four days of drought relative to adequate N.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − )e0
- Outcome
- plant adaptive response to drought stresse0
- Direction
- enhancese0
- Comparator
- adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − )e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a former mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − ) enhances plant adaptive response to drought stress (4 days) when compared to the plants treated with adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − ).”
t0“tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Prior mild N deficiency yielded higher aboveground biomass under drought.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − )e1
- Outcome
- aboveground biomasse0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − )e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“higher aboveground biomass, longer root, increased specific leaf weight, enhanced stomatal conductance (without reducing water content), and higher leaf sugar content.”
e1“a former mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − ) enhances plant adaptive response to drought stress (4 days) when compared to the plants treated with adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − ).”
t0“tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Prior mild N deficiency yielded longer roots under drought.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − )e1
- Outcome
- roote0
- Direction
- longere0
- Comparator
- adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − )e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“higher aboveground biomass, longer root, increased specific leaf weight, enhanced stomatal conductance (without reducing water content), and higher leaf sugar content.”
e1“a former mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − ) enhances plant adaptive response to drought stress (4 days) when compared to the plants treated with adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − ).”
t0“tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Prior mild N deficiency increased specific leaf weight under drought.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − )e1
- Outcome
- specific leaf weighte0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Comparator
- adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − )e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“higher aboveground biomass, longer root, increased specific leaf weight, enhanced stomatal conductance (without reducing water content), and higher leaf sugar content.”
e1“a former mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − ) enhances plant adaptive response to drought stress (4 days) when compared to the plants treated with adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − ).”
t0“tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Prior mild N deficiency enhanced stomatal conductance without reducing water content under drought.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − )e1
- Outcome
- stomatal conductancee0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Qualifier
- without reducing water contente0
- Comparator
- adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − )e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“higher aboveground biomass, longer root, increased specific leaf weight, enhanced stomatal conductance (without reducing water content), and higher leaf sugar content.”
e1“a former mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − ) enhances plant adaptive response to drought stress (4 days) when compared to the plants treated with adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − ).”
t0“tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Prior mild N deficiency increased leaf sugar content under drought.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − )e1
- Outcome
- leaf sugar contente0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − )e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“higher aboveground biomass, longer root, increased specific leaf weight, enhanced stomatal conductance (without reducing water content), and higher leaf sugar content.”
e1“a former mild N‐deficiency (2 mM NO 3 − ) enhances plant adaptive response to drought stress (4 days) when compared to the plants treated with adequate N (5 mM NO 3 − ).”
t0“tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
APX1 expression was higher under N deficiency alone and with drought after recovery.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Organ / stage
- leafe0
- Treatment
- N‐deficiency and in combination with droughte0
- Gene
- APX1e0
- Outcome
- expression levele0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the APX1 gene showed a higher expression level compared to control under N‐deficiency and in combination with drought in the leaf, after a one‐week recovery period.”
t0“tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)”
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See all 153 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.