Learning from nature: the use of non-model species to identify novel acclimations to flooding stress

Excess water in the form of waterlogged soil or deeper submergence (generically termed ‘flooding’) influences plant growth, survival and species distribution in many natural ecosystems. It also has a negative impact on crop growth and yield since many agricultural species are flooding intolerant. The often devastating effect of flooding on plant performance is related to its interference with gas exchange between the plant and its environment. This results in energy deficiency and carbohydrate starvation. In the near future, flooding frequency is expected to increase due to global climate change and the human population is expected to increase to ∼9 billion people by 2050. The need for increased agricultural productivity is self-evident and this will require a better mechanistic understanding of the interaction between plants and abiotic stresses such as flooding. We argue that, in seeking this understanding, we should not restrict the research to model species such as rice (Oryza sativa) and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). This is because some stress-tolerance mechanisms are not found in these species. Examples are given of how flooding tolerance is achieved by non-model species of Rumex and Rorippa that have evolved to cope with flooding in natural environments. These findings will add usefully to the spread of resources available to plant breeding programmes aimed at improving flooding tolerance in crop plants.