Dissecting the response to dehydration and salt (NaCl) in the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum

Although desiccation tolerant, the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum is sensitive to relatively low levels of sodium chloride. Exposure to sodium chloride, but not dehydration, led to accumulation of sodium ions in leaves and roots and caused irreversible wilting. The effects of salt and dehydration on transcript accumulation patterns were studied by using selected cDNA clones that were related to water stress. Most of the clones represented genes that were up-regulated in response to both treatments. Among the transcripts specifically up-regulated by dehydration were RNAs encoding transcripts with homology to aquaporins. Expression analysis revealed dehydration-specific profiles of late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) genes, which differed from the patterns observed for the same genes under sodium chloride stress. The interconversion of octulose and sucrose, which is characteristic for the desiccation/rehydration cycle in C. plantagineum leaves, was not activated by sodium chloride. The present results suggest that dehydration-specific responses involve the synchronized expression of specific genes and the presence of a determined concentration of sucrose. These dehydration responses were not detected in response to sodium chloride treatment.