Some physiological and molecular insights into the mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant Xerophyta viscosa Baker

Few organisms are able to survive desiccation to the air-dried state. Nevertheless, there are a small number of species from every major class of plants (with the exception of gymnosperms) that exhibit this characteristic (Bewley and Oliver, 1992; Oliver and Bewley, 1997). Many of these “resurrection” plants (Gaff, 1971) are being studied in an attempt to understand the mechanisms which enable vegetative tissues to withstand desiccation, with the ultimate aim of identifying characteristics which may be used to produce crops with improved tolerance to osmotic stress