Understanding responses to simultaneously and sequentially occurring abiotic stresses typical of climate change in rice and Arabidopsis

Environmental stresses seldom occur in isolation. Understanding how plants tolerate simultaneously and sequentially occurring stresses is a major challenge. This is especially urgent in the light of the negative effects climate change will have on agricultural productivity, while food production needs to double in the coming decades. In this bilateral research program, we will study the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying acclimation of a major monocot food crop rice and the leading dicot model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, to the combined stresses: high ambient temperature + drought and the sequential stress: flooding followed by drought, both of which are projected to increase in frequency, severity and unpredictability due to climate change. We will characterize physiological, morphological and phenological traits associated with tolerance to high ambient temperature+drought and post-submergence drought using existing variation in acclimation capacity among natural Arabidopsis accessions and Indian rice varieties. With this data we will design computational plant models to simulate whole-plant performance under these stresses for both species. This will indicate a set of favorable trait combinations contributing to tolerance. Based on this information, genes controlling (variation in) these traits will be identified using high throughput RNA-sequencing. Comparative transcriptomics between rice and Arabidopsis will facilitate stringent selection of candidate genes that will be studied in detail to gain novel insight of the molecular mechanistic basis of tolerance to relevant multiple combinatorial or sequential stresses (high ambient temperature+drought- and sequential post-submergence drought). This information can contribute to breeding of much-needed high yielding climate change-ready crops.