Drought stress is a crucial environmental factor for plant survival, and the development of drought-tolerant varieties is one of the goals of all cultivated plant researchers. In particular, the seedling stage is important for plant growth and development and is also the period most affected by drought. We investigated the initial response to drought stress in seedlings of two species of poplar (Populus alba × Populus davidiana and Populus davidiana) that phenotypically differed in drought tolerance. Comparative analysis in terms of shoot height, photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, antioxidants, proline, soluble protein, malondialdehyde (MDA), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) contents was used to measure the physiological and biochemical characteristics of drought stress, and drought-related genetic changes were also examined. Significant changes in shoot height, chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll contents, MDA and H₂O₂ appeared more adversely in Populus alba × Populus davidiana than in Populus davidiana, whereas reductions in soluble protein, carotenoids, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), which are indicators related to drought tolerance, appeared less in Populus davidiana. The change pattern of genes related to electron transfer and H₂O₂ production were almost similar in the two species, and among the drought response genes, lipid transfer protein 3 (LTP3) was greatly upregulated only in Populus davidiana. In the initial response to drought stress of both poplars, Populus davidiana, which had good antioxidant maintenance, showed better drought tolerance than Populus alba × Populus davidiana, which had a faster response to osmotic balance control.

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• Alleviation of drought stress in Poplar (Populus deltoides) by exogenous Silicon and Salicylic acid through modulation of morphology, osmolytes, antioxidant defense system and aquaporin gene expression
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Water deficit is a critical factor obstructing the growth and survival of plant. Therefore, researchers have been trying to develop drought-resistant varieties. To find indicators of drought stress-tolerance of cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa), we analyzed the response of cypress seedlings from six provenances of Korea (Jeju, Suwon, Seoul, Seongnam, Yong-in, and Osan) to drought stress. Additionally, the genetic diversity of C. obtusa from the six provenances were determined using microsatellite markers. We confirmed that populations from Suwon and Seongnam were relatively separated from other populations through genetic distance and cluster analysis. We examined their physiologic and metabolic responses after drought treatment for five weeks. Almost all of the cypress seedlings showed a reduced shoot growth rate under drought treatment compared to controls. In addition, temperature of drought treated cypress seedling leaves was 1.2-2℃ higher than that of the controls. Almost all of the drought stress-treated cypress showed increased carbon metabolite contents and pigments. In particular, the cypress seedlings from Osan showed the highest increase in all of the measured metabolites. Therefore, it is suggested that the seedlings from Osan are susceptible to drought stress. Conversely, the seedlings from Jeju, Suwon, and Yong-in showed a lower sensitivity to drought treatment. These results indicate that the cypress trees from the six provenances have a different response to drought stress. In addition, it is confirmed that previously identified indicators of drought stress, especially those that measure total soluble sugar, carotenoid, and H₂O₂, can be used in the selection of drought resistance cypress. These findings may useful in studies concerned with the metabolic and physiological responses of young cypress to drought.

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In this study, Quercus acutissima seedlings were subjected to drought for 30 days then analyzed to determine their response to water deficit. The growth phenotype, chlorophyll fluorescence response, fresh weight, dry weight, photosynthetic pigment levels, soluble sugar content, and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured to evaluate the effects of drought on plant growth and physiology. The growth phenotype was observed by infrared (IR) digital thermal imaging after 30 days of drought treatment. The maximum, average, and minimum temperatures of drought-treated plant leaves were 1–2°C higher than those of the control. In contrast, the fresh and dry weights of the dehydrated leaves were generally lower than those of the control. There were no significant differences between treatments in terms of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid levels. Nevertheless, for the drought treatment, the F_v/F_m and F_v/F_o ratios (chlorophyll fluorescence response) were lower than those for the control. Therefore, photosynthetic activity was lower in the dehydrated plants than the control. The drought-stressed Q. acutissima S0536 had lower soluble sugar (glucose and fructose) and higher MDA levels than the controls. These findings may explain the early growth and physiological responses of Q. acutissima to dehydration and facilitate the selection of drought-resistant tree families.

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Plant is frequently exposed to various abiotic stress. Salt stress is particularly an important abiotic stress that seriously affects plant growth and development. BrTSR53 gene, a putative stress-related gene isolated from Brassica rapa, was used to generate overexpression transgenic rice. The over-expression of BrTSR53 in BrTSR53-OX transgenic rice was confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR and western blot analysis. To elucidate the role of BrTSR53 in stress tolerance, responses of BrTSR53-OX transgenic rice plants to salt stress conditions were examined. BrTSR53-OX #12, #28, and #32 lines were treated with salt stress on MS medium containing 100 mM or 200 mM of NaCl for 5 and 14 days. Morphological analysis revealed differences between the three transgenic BrTSR53-OX rice and the wild-type rice. The germination rates of the three transgenic BrTSR53-OX lines of rice were significantly higher than that of the wild type rice, indicating that they were more tolerant to 200 mM NaCl than the wild type rice. In addition, the three transgenic BrTSR53-OX rice lines had significantly longer length of root and shoot compared to the wild type rice. These results suggest that the BrTSR53 gene played an important role in the tolerance of rice to salt stress. Therefore, it might be a potential target for the purpose of improving salt tolerance of rice and other crops.

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