Research Projects

Recurrent drought events are common in the Thar desert, where plants "remember" past drought events to present a more robust response to subsequent exposure. The scientific understanding of drought memory in plants is still limited, with only a few mechanisms identified. Progenies of drought-exposed parents often inherit certain methylation patterns, better equipped to counter drought, largely dependent on the genotype. Memory genes are regulated through the deposition of epigenetic marks, including histone modifications and DNA methylations, which is one way for drought memory to be transmitted to subsequent generations. There is a gap in our knowledge about the genetic control of transgenerational memory and co-segregation of genetic and epigenetic alleles for the inheritance of drought memory. Arabidopsis is a high-throughput lab model system that will study QTLs and eQTLs associated with drought tolerance in plants through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). 200 Arabidopsis ecotypes will be pre-treated with a first drought stress in a hydroponic system, followed by a recovery interval and a second spell of drought. Various drought phenotypes will be explored, including relative root length and expression level polymorphisms of signature drought responsive genes. Control GWAS will be conducted on single-spell drought responses to dissect the genetic components conferring drought memory. T-DNA insertion knock-out mutants of candidate genes will be checked for tolerance under re-iterated drought stress. The proposed research will lead to the discovery of new genes and mechanisms adding to our knowledge about drought memory behavior of plants, which can be translated into field crops and tolerant desert plants in the future.