Plant responses to abiotic stresses are complex and dynamic, and involve changes in different traits, either as the direct consequence of the stress, or as an active acclimatory response. Abiotic stresses frequently occur simultaneously or in succession, rather than in isolation. Despite this, most studies have focused on a single stress and single or few plant traits. To address this gap, our study comprehensively and categorically quantified the individual and combined effects of three major abiotic stresses associated with climate change (flooding, progressive drought and high temperature) on 12 phenotypic traits related to morphology, development, growth and fitness, at different developmental stages in four Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. Combined sub-lethal stresses were applied either simultaneously (high temperature and drought) or sequentially (flooding followed by drought). In total, we analyzed the phenotypic responses of 1782 individuals across these stresses and different developmental stages. O...

Utrecht University

Biology

Botany

Evolutionary biology

Phenotype

Arabidopsis thaliana

Abiotic stress

Abiotic component

Drought stress

Phenotypic plasticity

Phenotypic trait

Aob Plants

Effects of sub-lethal single, simultaneous, and sequential abiotic stresses on phenotypic traits of Arabidopsis thaliana