3rd Edition Of Plant Science and Molecular Biology World Conference 2026

Abstract

Due to population growth, urbanization, and climate change, the competition for water resources is expected to increase, with a relevant impact on the agrosystems, where water is used for irrigation. Notably, different plant species counteract drought conditions by modulating the functionality of the root system that ultimately determines their access to water. An area of recent interest is examining the genetic determinant for improving root traits that increase plant water use efficiency and, expressly, maintain their productivity under drought conditions.
Recently, research on root plasticity has focused on the utility of specific root traits under water limitation, and an increasing number of quantitative trait loci (QTL) and genes have been reported in different crop/model species. Among them, DRO1 was found to be a significant root QTL in rice and Arabidopsis. It is strictly related to deep-growing root systems, allowing plants to reach deeper groundwater and survive during drought periods. However, it is notable that the specific root traits regulated by this gene (root angle, root length, etc.) were distinct in the above-mentioned plant species. Therefore, shedding light on the DRO1 function in other crop species could provide the necessary resources and reference to improve their productivity and performance under water shortage, putting this understanding into practice.
In this scenario, our study - funded by the European Union - Next-GenerationEU project – and the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan - aims at functionally characterizing the DRO1-controlled root phenotype in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plant, an important crop grown worldwide. To accomplish this, an omics-driven approach combining phenomics and cutting-edge genomics was implemented to functionally analyze DRO1 gene, at a spatio-temporal level, and decipher the networks/mechanisms orchestrating tomato root architecture changes under challenging conditions.
Such insights promise to enhance plant fitness and resilience in evolving climatic conditions.