Sexual Dimorphism in Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress
Summary
Sexual dimorphism in dioecious plants manifests as distinct structural, physiological and molecular strategies by male and female individuals when confronted with non-living stressors such as drought, salinity and nutrient imbalance. These differences arise from divergent reproductive investments: females often allocate more resources to seed and fruit development, while males may prioritise vegetative growth or pollen production. Under water deficit, salinity or excess nutrients, males and females can regulate hormone levels, antioxidant capacity and ion transport in contrasting ways, leading to sex-specific survival and fitness. Such dimorphic responses not only shape population sex ratios across environmental gradients but also influence ecosystem resilience and the improvement of stress-tolerant cultivars in forestry and agriculture.
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Sexual Dimorphism in Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress publication trend
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Technical terms
Dioecy: A plant sexual system in which individual organisms are either male or female, each producing only one type of reproductive organ.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS): Highly reactive molecules derived from oxygen that can damage cellular components under stress unless scavenged by antioxidants.
Electrolyte leakage: A measure of cell membrane integrity, assessed by the loss of ions from tissues under stress, indicating cellular damage.
Abscisic acid (ABA): A plant hormone that regulates stomatal closure and stress responses, often accumulating in drought-exposed tissues.
Na+/H+ antiporter (NHX): A membrane transporter that exchanges sodium ions for protons, critical for salt tolerance by reducing intracellular Na+ accumulation.
References
- Sexually differential tolerance to water deficiency of Salix paraplesia—A female‐biased alpine willow. Ecology and Evolution (2019).
- Sexual Differences in Physiological and Transcriptional Responses to Salinity Stress of Salix linearistipularis. Frontiers in Plant Science (2020).
- Salix myrtillacea Female Cuttings Performed Better Than Males under Nitrogen Deposition on Leaves and Drought Conditions. Forests (2022).
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