Integrative approach involving RNA-Seq, foliar traits and growth measurements revealed genotype-specific plasticity on Eucalyptus subjected to seasonal water shortage

Background In the context of climate change, water availability will become an important limiting factor threatening biomass production, particularly in intensively managed forest tree plantations. The complexity of drought stress response calls for integrative approaches combining physiological, anatomical and molecular investigations at different scales ranging from particular cells to the whole plant. Such a strategy was developed for two eucalyptus clones used in industrial plantations in the Republic of Congo and known for their differences in term of productivity and water-use efficiency.