Rice with reduced stomatal density conserves water and has improved drought tolerance under future climate conditions
Much of humanity relies on rice (Oryza sativa) as a food source, but cultivation is water intensive and the crop is vulnerable to drought and high temperatures. Under climate change, periods of reduced water availability and high temperature are expected to become more frequent, leading to detriment...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53158/ |
| _version_ | 1848798889942974464 |
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| author | Caine, Robert S. Yin, Xiaojia Sloan, Jennifer Harrison, Emily L. Mohammed, Umar Fulton, Timothy Biswal, Akshaya K. Dionora, Jacqueline Chater, Caspar C. Coe, Robert A. Bandyopadhyay, Anindya Murchie, Erik H. Swarup, Ranjan Quick, W. Paul Gray, Julie E. |
| author_facet | Caine, Robert S. Yin, Xiaojia Sloan, Jennifer Harrison, Emily L. Mohammed, Umar Fulton, Timothy Biswal, Akshaya K. Dionora, Jacqueline Chater, Caspar C. Coe, Robert A. Bandyopadhyay, Anindya Murchie, Erik H. Swarup, Ranjan Quick, W. Paul Gray, Julie E. |
| author_sort | Caine, Robert S. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Much of humanity relies on rice (Oryza sativa) as a food source, but cultivation is water intensive and the crop is vulnerable to drought and high temperatures. Under climate change, periods of reduced water availability and high temperature are expected to become more frequent, leading to detrimental effects on rice yields.
We engineered the high-yielding rice cultivar ‘IR64’ to produce fewer stomata by manipulating the level of a developmental signal. We overexpressed the rice epidermal patterning factor OsEPF1, creating plants with substantially reduced stomatal density and correspondingly low stomatal conductance.
Low stomatal density rice lines were more able to conserve water, using c. 60% of the normal amount between weeks 4 and 5 post germination. When grown at elevated atmospheric CO2, rice plants with low stomatal density were able to maintain their stomatal conductance and survive drought and high temperature (40°C) for longer than control plants. Low stomatal density rice gave equivalent or even improved yields, despite a reduced rate of photosynthesis in some conditions.
Rice plants with fewer stomata are drought tolerant and more conservative in their water use, and they should perform better in the future when climate change is expected to threaten food security. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:26:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-53158 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:26:57Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-531582020-05-04T19:47:19Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53158/ Rice with reduced stomatal density conserves water and has improved drought tolerance under future climate conditions Caine, Robert S. Yin, Xiaojia Sloan, Jennifer Harrison, Emily L. Mohammed, Umar Fulton, Timothy Biswal, Akshaya K. Dionora, Jacqueline Chater, Caspar C. Coe, Robert A. Bandyopadhyay, Anindya Murchie, Erik H. Swarup, Ranjan Quick, W. Paul Gray, Julie E. Much of humanity relies on rice (Oryza sativa) as a food source, but cultivation is water intensive and the crop is vulnerable to drought and high temperatures. Under climate change, periods of reduced water availability and high temperature are expected to become more frequent, leading to detrimental effects on rice yields. We engineered the high-yielding rice cultivar ‘IR64’ to produce fewer stomata by manipulating the level of a developmental signal. We overexpressed the rice epidermal patterning factor OsEPF1, creating plants with substantially reduced stomatal density and correspondingly low stomatal conductance. Low stomatal density rice lines were more able to conserve water, using c. 60% of the normal amount between weeks 4 and 5 post germination. When grown at elevated atmospheric CO2, rice plants with low stomatal density were able to maintain their stomatal conductance and survive drought and high temperature (40°C) for longer than control plants. Low stomatal density rice gave equivalent or even improved yields, despite a reduced rate of photosynthesis in some conditions. Rice plants with fewer stomata are drought tolerant and more conservative in their water use, and they should perform better in the future when climate change is expected to threaten food security. Wiley 2018-07-24 Article PeerReviewed Caine, Robert S., Yin, Xiaojia, Sloan, Jennifer, Harrison, Emily L., Mohammed, Umar, Fulton, Timothy, Biswal, Akshaya K., Dionora, Jacqueline, Chater, Caspar C., Coe, Robert A., Bandyopadhyay, Anindya, Murchie, Erik H., Swarup, Ranjan, Quick, W. Paul and Gray, Julie E. (2018) Rice with reduced stomatal density conserves water and has improved drought tolerance under future climate conditions. New Phytologist . ISSN 1469-8137 climate change drought epidermal pattering factor heat stress rice stomata water conservation https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nph.15344 doi:10.1111/nph.15344 doi:10.1111/nph.15344 |
| spellingShingle | climate change drought epidermal pattering factor heat stress rice stomata water conservation Caine, Robert S. Yin, Xiaojia Sloan, Jennifer Harrison, Emily L. Mohammed, Umar Fulton, Timothy Biswal, Akshaya K. Dionora, Jacqueline Chater, Caspar C. Coe, Robert A. Bandyopadhyay, Anindya Murchie, Erik H. Swarup, Ranjan Quick, W. Paul Gray, Julie E. Rice with reduced stomatal density conserves water and has improved drought tolerance under future climate conditions |
| title | Rice with reduced stomatal density conserves water and has improved drought tolerance under future climate conditions |
| title_full | Rice with reduced stomatal density conserves water and has improved drought tolerance under future climate conditions |
| title_fullStr | Rice with reduced stomatal density conserves water and has improved drought tolerance under future climate conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rice with reduced stomatal density conserves water and has improved drought tolerance under future climate conditions |
| title_short | Rice with reduced stomatal density conserves water and has improved drought tolerance under future climate conditions |
| title_sort | rice with reduced stomatal density conserves water and has improved drought tolerance under future climate conditions |
| topic | climate change drought epidermal pattering factor heat stress rice stomata water conservation |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53158/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53158/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53158/ |