Assessment of photoprotective mechanisms and memory effect in soybean cultivars under recurrent drought: Implications for drought tolerance in climate change scenarios

• Grant number: 24/21237-3
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Pant Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Milton Costa Lima Neto
• Grantee: Milton Costa Lima Neto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Douglas Silva Domingues ; Joaquim Albenisio Gomes da Silveira ; Rafael Vasconcelos Ribeiro

Abstract

Soybean (Glycine max) is a cornerstone of Brazilian agriculture, but its productivity is severely affected by drought, a problem intensified by climate change. Drought negatively affects photosynthesis and plant metabolism, limiting growth and yield. However, plants have developed tolerance mechanisms, including the activation of photoprotective processes and the memory effect, which allow them to respond more efficiently to subsequent stress events. This project will investigate whether prior exposure to moderate drought in early developmental stages (priming effect) increases soybean tolerance to recurrent drought. The project hypothesis is that prior exposure to moderate drought (priming effect) in early developmental stages optimizes soybean tolerance to subsequent drought events. Previous studies show that priming induces physiological and molecular changes in plants, such as the accumulation of osmolytes and the expression of genes related to drought tolerance, which confers greater resilience to future stresses. To test this hypothesis, advanced techniques of plant physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology will be used, such as growth analysis, gas exchange, quantum yields of photosystems II and I, enzyme activities and proteomic, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses, in soybean plants subjected to drought cycles with and without priming. It is expected to elucidate how prior drought exposure affects photosynthetic efficiency and the regulation of photoprotective mechanisms for tolerance to subsequent water stress events (memory effect). The results will contribute to the development of more drought-resilient cultivars, with a positive impact on Brazilian agricultural production, and will strengthen the research group on Plant Metabolism at UNESP, consolidating collaborations and training qualified human resources. (AU)