Depth matters : Effects of precipitation regime on soil microbial activity upon rewetting of a plant-soil system
International audience; Climate change is predicted to affect not only the amount but also the temporal distribution of rain. Changes in frequency and amplitude of rain events, i.e. precipitation patterns, result in different water conditions with soil depth, and likely affect plant growth and shape plant and soil microbial activity. Here, we used 18O stable isotope probing (SIP) to investigate bacterial and fungal communities that actively grew or not upon rewetting, at three different depths in plant-soil mesocosms previously subjected to frequent or infrequent watering for 12 weeks (equal total water input). Phylogenetic marker genes for bacteria and fungi were sequenced after rewetting,…
Drought Stress Memory at the Plant Cycle Level: A Review
International audience; Plants are sessile organisms whose survival depends on their strategy to cope with dynamic, stressful conditions. It is urgent to improve the ability of crops to adapt to recurrent stresses in order to alleviate the negative impacts on their productivity. Although our knowledge of plant adaptation to drought has been extensively enhanced during the last decades, recent studies have tackled plant responses to recurrent stresses. The present review synthesizes the major findings from studies addressing plant responses to multiple drought events, and demonstrates the ability of plants to memorize drought stress. Stress memory is described as a priming effect allowing a …