Find out cheaply if vegetables are getting enough water

Climate change is aggravating the impact of drought —one of the factors that affect plant physiology— on all plant ecosystems on the planet. Although new tools have been designed to detect and assess drought stress in plants —transcriptomic or metabolomic technologies, etc.—, currently it is still difficult to apply them in natural ecosystems, especially in remote areas and in developing countries.

Now, a set of techniques has been presented that allow detecting and monitoring drought stress in plants in a very cheap, easy and fast way. Those responsible for this work are the experts Sergi Munné-Bosch and Sabina Villadangos, from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona (UB).

The techniques available to detect and monitor the effects of drought stress on plants range from very simple and cheap measures (growth or relative water content analysis) to more complex and expensive approaches (omics technologies). UB professor Sergi Munné-Bosch, professor in the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, explains that these innovative technologies “have provided new opportunities to detect and monitor drought stress, but their cost generates inequalities throughout the world”.

«Unfortunately -he continues- today the whole world is affected by the lack of water resources, especially in the current framework of climate change that we are experiencing. And unfortunately, the countries with fewer economic resources are no exception. It is necessary to take into account that most of the poorest countries are in Africa, where, in addition, the most extensive arid and sub-arid regions of the planet are found.

With the new study, we wanted to contribute to establishing effective and low-cost protocols to be able to easily detect and study how drought affects plants. (Photo: Sergi Munné-Bosch / University of Barcelona / IRBio. CC BY)

The new work aims to respond to the need to establish effective and low-cost protocols to easily detect and study how drought affects plants. Specifically, the authors present a battery of very accessible techniques that can be applied with basic laboratory equipment: precision balance, microscope, centrifuge, spectrophotometer, oven, camera, and computer.

These laboratories could analyze different parameters on growth rates, leaf water content, pigments, and leaf viability using the tetrazolium test, an organic heterocyclic compound that has traditionally been used in plant physiology studies.

“With these indicators, we can get a complete idea of ​​which species are best adapted to a particular climate, or how a given crop responds to changing conditions in a given region in the current context of climate change,” says Munné-Bosch. .

“All these measures are very simple to carry out. In addition, a specialized team can be formed with very little time that can develop measures quickly and efficiently. And, furthermore, they can be implemented at a very low cost, so that they are viable approaches throughout the world”, points out the researcher.

The team also highlights the use of the tetrazolium test as a useful and easy-to-apply method to assess the effects of drought stress on plants. “This test not only makes it possible to detect whether a cell, tissue or organ is alive or dead, but it is also an excellent indicator of its longevity; that is, it is a scientific tool that allows predicting how long a plant will live. This can be especially useful for programs for the management and conservation of biodiversity, especially in the current framework of climate change that we are experiencing”, points out the researcher.

The impact of climate change is stimulating research to understand the adaptation mechanisms of plants to new environmental conditions. «More than a stimulus, this is a necessity. Human beings need to adapt to climate change and they will always do better hand in hand with nature, integrating into it. And, to do so, it is essential to know the ecosystems and all the organisms that are part of them, including plants”, says Munné-Bosch.

Designing and implementing quality scientific tools is decisive in order to be able to develop management plans and conserve biodiversity throughout the planet. “This work contributes to a better understanding of the response of plants to drought in a context of climate change and, in addition, it can be very useful for biodiversity management programs,” explains researcher Sabina Villadangos.

The study also makes it easier for these measures to be implemented worldwide. “It is necessary to keep in mind that if all countries do not coordinate in the face of foreseeable changes, the effects of global change will be devastating,” concludes Sergi Munné-Bosch.

Part of the recent work carried out by the Munné-Bosch and Villadangos team is detailed in the academic journal Trends in Plant Science, under the title “Cheap, cost-effective, and quick stress biomarkers for drought stress detection and monitoring in plants” . (Source: UB)