Massive increases in C31 alkane on Zygophyllum xanthoxylum leaves contribute to its excellent abiotic stress tolerance.

Background And Aims: Desert plants possess excellent water-conservation capacities to survive in extreme environments. Cuticular wax plays a pivotal role in reducing water loss through plant aerial surfaces. However, the role of cuticular wax in water retention by desert plants is poorly understood.

Physiological and transcriptomic analyses provide insight into thermotolerance in desert plant Zygophyllum xanthoxylum.

Background: Heat stress has adverse effects on the growth and reproduction of plants. Zygophyllum xanthoxylum, a typical xerophyte, is a dominant species in the desert where summer temperatures are around 40 °C. However, the mechanism underlying the thermotolerance of Z.

Sodium-Related Adaptations to Drought: New Insights From the Xerophyte Plant .

Understanding the unusual physiological mechanisms that enable drought tolerance in xerophytes will be of considerable benefit because of the potential to identify novel and key genetic elements for future crop improvements. These plants are interesting because they are well-adapted for life in arid zones; , for example, is a typical xerophytic shrub that inhabits central Asian deserts, accumulating substantial levels of sodium (Na) in its succulent leaves while growing in soils that contain very low levels of this ion. The physiological importance of this unusual trait to drought adaptations remains poorly understood, however.