With global warming, drought is becoming a significant threat to crop production. Moreover, the reduction of available arable land by soil erosion, degradation, desertification, and salinization is another problem that negatively impacts food production.
In a desert environment, plants have evolved their developmental program to survive and thrive with scarce water, low nutrients, and high temperatures. Mechanisms underlying these developmental adaptations remain largely unknown.
Here we study how desert plants have designed their root morphology and anatomy to maximize their growth in the arid environment. We focus on the desert plant Calotropis procera, also known as giant milkweed and sodom apple. C.procera is not only tolerant to drought, salinity, and high temperatures, but it is also known for its medicinal properties and fiber production.
Analysis of the root system architecture shows that C.procera has a tap root of which the formation of lateral roots changes in response to drought We also characterized the tissue anatomy and revealed the distribution of lignin and suberin in root cross-sections and show that also their distribution is responsive to drought.
Additionally using a multi-omics approach we characterized this specie at the molecular level to identify and isolate new drought, heat and salinity tolerance determinants.
Ultimately, we will exploit the knowledge generated form this desert specie to improve abiotic stress tolerance in crop species, like tomato. As such we hope to contribute to reducing water usage in agriculture in general and to developing sustainable agriculture in arid environments.