"Drought stress in strawberry: are aquaporins involved?”

Summary

Because of climate change, drought will occur more intensely and more frequently in the future. To be able to sustain food production we need to understand plant-water relations and the effects of drought on the plant metabolism.
My research focuses on strawberry, a crop that is produced worldwide and quickly suffers when water supply is insufficient. Using molecular and physiological approaches I learn about the contribution of hormones and aquaporins to several stress responses such as stomatal conductance and root and leaf hydraulic conductivity. Comparing a more drought sensitive and a more drought tolerant strawberry cultivar, I unravel the underlying mechanisms leading up to these different phenotypes.

Researcher:

Britt Merlaen