Drought is one of the biggest challenges facing agriculture worldwide, causing significant losses, particularly in key crops such as coffee, soybeans, and cotton. Despite coffee's substantial economic importance, our understanding of how the plant responds to water scarcity at the molecular level is still limited.
Research conducted by the Molecular Genetics and Plant Biotechnology Laboratory at UFRJ, led by Professor Márcio Alves-Ferreira, in collaboration with the team from Embrapa Cenargen, coordinated by researcher M. Fatima Grossi de Sa, studied all the "homeobox" (HB) gene family members present in the genome of Coffea arabica. They discovered that three of these genes are activated when the plant experiences osmotic stress (such as drought). Among these, the gene CaHB12 stood out as it is significantly activated in the leaves and roots of coffee plants under moderate and severe drought conditions.
To better understand the role of CaHB12, the scientists introduced this gene into transgenic Arabidopsis plants (a model plant) and observed that these plants exhibited increased tolerance to drought and salt during germination. During the analyses, they noted that while some classic drought response genes showed decreased activity, other pathways, such as those related to heat shock proteins, were activated, which may explain the enhanced resistance of the plants.
This study was supported by the INCT PlantStress Biotech and also involved collaborations with the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Argentina) and Universität Bonn (Germany). Furthermore, the researchers tested the expression of CaHB12 in transgenic soybean and cotton plants, with results indicating increased drought tolerance.
The findings of this study, recently published in the journal Environmental and Experimental Botany, suggest that CaHB12 is a positive regulator of the stress response in coffee plants and a promising candidate for biotechnological applications. A diagram provides a graphical summary of the results.
Also, check out the dissemination conducted in the FAPERJ newsletter, as well as the original article in the scientific journal.
FAPERJ Dissemination
https://www.faperj.br/?id=648.7.8
Link to article in EEB
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0098847224003411