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Drought resistance: Spraying for yield

Nature Plants volume 3, Article number: 17023 (2017) Cite this article

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Trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) is an essential signalling molecule in plants. A novel chemical intervention strategy to increase in planta T6P levels has now been presented, with remarkable effects on plant yield and drought tolerance.

Two decades ago, it was discovered that all plant species harbour multigene families of trehalose metabolizing enzymes, which was, at the time, a puzzling observation. Further research on plant trehalose metabolism resulted in the identification of trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) as an essential regulatory molecule in plants1. T6P licenses sugar utilization for plant growth, and its absence halts growth irrespective of the actual sugar level. The molecular functions of T6P and the trehalose multigene family members are poorly understood, but recent studies highlight the importance of modifying T6P levels for regulating productivity and stress tolerance in field crops2,3. The controlled expression of a trehalose-6-phoshate phosphatase (TPP) gene in the reproductive organs of maize resulted in increased kernel number and seed yield, particularly under drought conditions2. In a separate study, the presence of a functional OsTPP7 gene allowed seeds of a submergence-tolerant rice variety to germinate in anaerobic conditions3. Most of the currently cultivated rice varieties have a truncated, inactive OsTPP7 and fail to germinate when submerged. In each case, the local modulation of T6P levels promoted allocation of sugar resources to the growing parts, the maize embryo and the rice seedling apical meristem, respectively.

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Figure 1: A light-sensitive synthetic T6P signalling precursor is taken up by plants and diffuses into a plant cell, where light treatment results in the release of T6P.

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  1. Sjef Smeekens is at the Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, 3584CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.,

    Sjef Smeekens

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  1. Sjef Smeekens
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Correspondence to Sjef Smeekens.

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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Smeekens, S. Drought resistance: Spraying for yield. Nature Plants 3, 17023 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2017.23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2017.23

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