Plant Water-use Efficiency
2021
Coupel-Ledru, Aude | University of Bristol [Bristol] | Wiley Online Library
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. The loss of water vapour from aerial tissues of terrestrial plants as they assimilate CO 2 from the atmosphere for photosynthesis is biophysically unavoidable. Photosynthesis and transpiration co-vary with the aperture and density of stomatal pores, and are co-determined by the leaf area, which is involved in light capture and water loss. Yet, the strength of this coupling varies depending on the genotype and the environmental conditions. This has prompted plant scientists to define water-use efficiency (WUE) as the ratio of carbon gains to water losses. WUE is genetically variable and displays high plasticity to environmental cues including CO 2 , drought and vapour pressure deficit (VPD). Breeding crops with high WUE is a key challenge in the face of climate change, but this must be achieved without penalties on growth or yield. In this view, strategies exploiting the physiological and genetic bases of the spatial and/or temporal variability between carbon gain and water loss offer promising avenues.
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