The UJI explores how multiple combinations of abiotic stress affect tomato plants in order to find answers that improve their acclimatisation and survival in the face of climate change
The project led by researcher Sara Izquierdo Zandalinas from the Ecophysiology and Biotechnology Group addresses the challenge of crop productivity in situations of climate change
image: A research team from the Eco-Physiology and Biotechnology Group at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, led by researcher Sara Izquierdo Zandalinas with the collaboration of José Luis Rambla Nebot, studies how complex combinations of these stress conditions affect the growth and survival of tomato plants. The team analyzes which plant responses are beneficial or harmful for acclimation to the environment, as well as the changes occurring in their metabolism, proteins and hormones. According to the results obtained and published so far, the effects of combining different types of stress are extensive. They impact photosynthesis, growth, and also the accumulation of proline, an amino acid that, while beneficial for stress resistance, could have an adverse effect under multifactorial stress. The study also provided interesting evidence about the role of a specific polyamine (spermine) in plant tolerance to a particular combined stress (salinity and the herbicide paraquat). Another conclusion of the study is that mechanisms for eliminating reactive oxygen species (ROS) could represent a potential strategy to increase plant and crop tolerance to multifactorial stress. Additionally, the hormone jasmonic acid appears to play a key role in tomato acclimation under combined conditions of high light intensity, salinity and paraquat exposure. Finally, through a multi-omics approach, the team analyzed the effect of up to six simultaneous stressors and determined that tomatoes activate a specific molecular program depending on stress complexity. They identified more than 190 genes that respond commonly, as well as others that are activated only under extreme conditions, including two key regulators of responses to combined heat stress. When comparing with other species, similar responses were found, suggesting a universal adaptation mechanism. These findings provide new insights for developing crops that are more resilient to the extreme conditions imposed by climate change.
Credit: Universitat Jaume I of Castellón
Every year, abiotic stress factors such as drought, heat, salinity or high light intensity —combined with unfavorable soil conditions caused by human activity (herbicides, pH changes, or various contaminants such as microplastics)— and especially the combination of these factors, lead to a decline in crop productivity worldwide. If this trend in our environment does not slow down or reverse, food supplies could be severely reduced.
A research team from the Eco-Physiology and Biotechnology Group at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, led by researcher Sara Izquierdo Zandalinas with the collaboration of José Luis Rambla Nebot, studies how complex combinations of these stress conditions affect the growth and survival of tomato plants. The team analyzes which plant responses are beneficial or harmful for acclimation to the environment, as well as the changes occurring in their metabolism, proteins and hormones.
According to the results obtained and published so far, the effects of combining different types of stress are extensive. They impact photosynthesis, growth, and also the accumulation of proline, an amino acid that, while beneficial for stress resistance, could have an adverse effect under multifactorial stress. The study also provided interesting evidence about the role of a specific polyamine (spermine) in plant tolerance to a particular combined stress (salinity and the herbicide paraquat).
Another conclusion of the study is that mechanisms for eliminating reactive oxygen species (ROS) could represent a potential strategy to increase plant and crop tolerance to multifactorial stress. Additionally, the hormone jasmonic acid appears to play a key role in tomato acclimation under combined conditions of high light intensity, salinity and paraquat exposure.
Finally, through a multi-omics approach, the team analyzed the effect of up to six simultaneous stressors and determined that tomatoes activate a specific molecular program depending on stress complexity. They identified more than 190 genes that respond commonly, as well as others that are activated only under extreme conditions, including two key regulators of responses to combined heat stress. When comparing with other species, similar responses were found, suggesting a universal adaptation mechanism. These findings provide new insights for developing crops that are more resilient to the extreme conditions imposed by climate change.
The study has enabled collaborations with the group led by Professor Ron Mittler at the University of Missouri (Columbia, USA) to share results on multifactorial stress in different plant species (they study maize, soybean and rice), and with Professor Alisdair Fernie at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Golm-Potsdam (Germany), a leading European research group in plant metabolomics.
Sara Izquierdo Zandalinas is a researcher under Spain’s Ramón y Cajal Program at the UJI. She has conducted research at the University of North Texas and the University of Missouri in the United States. She is a member of the Eco-Physiology and Biotechnology Research Group and the Educational Innovation Group on Studies Related to Life Sciences (INECVI). Her research focuses on the physiological, biochemical and molecular responses of plants exposed to combined abiotic stresses.
Her research findings have been published in over 70 high-impact scientific journals, her articles have received more than 12,000 citations, and her h-index is 43. She received the Extraordinary Doctoral Award (2016), the Francisco Sabater Award from the Spanish Society of Plant Physiology (2019), the Young Scientist Award from the Federation of European Societies of Plant Biology (2021), and the Santiago Grisolía Award (GVA, 2022). Moreover, since 2023, she has been included in the Highly Cited Researchers ranking by Clarivate Analytics, confirming the international impact and relevance of her work.
This research is part of the project PID2021-128198OA-I00, funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FEDER/EU, within the State Plan for Scientific, Technical, and Innovation Research 2021–2023, aimed at promoting strategic sectors for recovery, such as health, ecological transition and digitalization.
Articles: https://repositori.uji.es/search?query=PID2021-128198OA-I00