Molecular Responses to Drought and Waterlogging Stresses of Kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa) Potted Vines

Abstract

Environmental extremes, such as drought and flooding, are becoming increasingly common, resulting in significant crop losses. The aim of the present study was to understand the molecular response induced by drought and waterlogging conditions, and to link these responses to the physiological adaptation of plants. For this purpose, leaf RNA expression was analyzed in potted kiwifruit plants by Illumina Next Generation Sequences. Stressed plants showed an impairment of all physiological parameters (leaf-gas exchange and stem-water potential) with a more evident effect in waterlogging condition than in drought condition. However, the impact on the transcriptome in waterlogged plants was less intense than in drought stress. Drought affected several metabolic pathways, among which “plant hormone signal transduction”, “protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum”, and “mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway” were the most representative in terms of number of genes involved. The genes involved in the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids were positively influenced by both drought and waterlogging. Finally, waterlogging stimulated secondary metabolisms by upregulating the genes responsible for the biosynthesis of terpenoids and flavonoids, such as stilbenoids. The obtained results show that the two contrasting stress conditions share several common physiological responses and molecular mechanisms.