Reverse transcribed RNAs coding for YnKn, YnSKn, SKn, and KS dehydrin types in drought-stressed white clover (Trifolium repens) were identified and characterized. The nucleotide analyses revealed the complex nature of dehydrin-coding sequences, often featured with alternative start and stop codons within the open reading frames, which could be a prerequisite for high variability among the trans...

Drought is a major environmental stress limiting growth of perennial grasses in temperate regions. Plant drought tolerance is a complex trait that is controlled by multiple genes. Candidate gene association mapping provides a powerful tool for dissection of complex traits. Candidate gene association mapping of drought tolerance traits was conducted in 192 diverse perennial ryegrass (Lolium pere...

Pioneer tree species have acquisitive leaf characteristics associated with high demand of light and water, and are expected to be shade and drought intolerant. Using leaf functional traits (specific leaf area, photosynthetic rate, relative water content and stomatal conductance) and tree performance (mortality rate) in the field, we assessed how shade and drought tolerance of leaves are related...

Reconstructing centennial timescale hydroclimate variability during the late Holocene is critically important for understanding large-scale patterns of drought and their relationship with climate dynamics. We present sediment oxygen isotope records spanning the last twomillennia from 10 lakes, as well as climate model simulations, indicating that the Little Ice Age was dry relative to the Medie...

Climatological background Life in the semiarid Sahel belt of tropical North Africa strongly depends on the availability of water and has been repeatedly affected by shifts to more arid climate. The most recent drought occurred in the early 1970’s and 1980’s, with partial recovery during the late 1990’s. High resolution fluvial sediments off Senegal offer the opportunity to study the history of ...

Global climate change is predicted to increase temperatures, alter geographical patterns of rainfall and increase the frequency of extreme climatic events. Such changes are likely to alter the timing and magnitude of drought stresses experienced by crops. This study used new developments in the classification of crop water stress to first characterize the typology and frequency of drought-stres...

The copepod Diaptomus sanguineus begins diapause in permanent ponds in late March as an adaptation to avoid summer fish predation. During a study of copepod populations in two Rhode Island ponds, a severe drought dried one pond killing all fish. The second (control) pond did not dry, and no fish were killed. Before the drought copepods in the two ponds entered diapause on nearly the same date. ...

Although staple crops do not survive extended periods of drought, their seeds possess desiccation tolerance (DT), as they survive almost complete dehydration (desiccation) during the late maturation phase of development. Resurrection plants are plant species whose seeds and vegetative tissues are desiccation tolerant. Vegetative DT first arose with the transition from aquatic to terrestrial lif...

Although staple crops do not survive extended periods of drought, their seeds possess desiccation tolerance (DT), as they survive almost complete dehydration (desiccation) during the late maturation phase of development. Resurrection plants are plant species whose seeds and vegetative tissues are desiccation tolerant. Vegetative DT first arose with the transition from aquatic to terrestrial lif...