Stress tolerance mechanisms of 6 native plant species growing in China's northern grassland and their utilization

It is a long term work to assemble the knowledge needed to utilize the rich native plant resources to assist social and economic development in China. The progress of the research results and their application of mechanisms underlying the stress-tolerance in native plants including Zygophyllum xanthoxylum, Artemisia sphaerocephala, Microula sikkimensis, Achnatherum inebrians, Cleistogenes songorica and Leymus chinensis were reviewed in this paper. The main results and findings are as follows: based on discovering the physiological mechanism of drought tolerance of Z. xanthoxylum, the key genes involved in drought tolerance were cloned and applied into the genetic improvement of important legume forage lucerne (Medicago sativa) and lotus (Lotus corniculatus); the desert shrub A. sphaerocephala and alpine species M. sikkimensis contain high contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the highest contents being found in the seeds; the diversity of drunken horse grass fungal endophyte symbiont was investigated on a national scale. The alkaloids produced by the symbiont are the main reason for both increased plant stress tolerance and the toxicity symptoms observed after intake by grazing animals; the biological, physiological and molecular genetic characteristics of C. songorica were studied. As a result, the species is expected to be domesticated successfully. Technical information on procedures for pasture establishment and seed production of this species has been developed; the seed dormancy mechanisms of L. chinensis were explored, and techniques to effectively break dormancy were developed. © 2016, Science Press. All right reserved.