Maternal drought stress on Persian oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.) affects susceptibility to single and combined drought and biotic stress in offspring

Zagros woodlands in Iran are threatened by the decline of Persian oak (Quercus brantii) trees. Although the main cause of tree mortality is drought stress, bacterial pathogens such as Brenneria goodwinii also contribute to tree dieback. Maternal effects were studied in a drought-affected environment. We investigated if the susceptibility of Q. brantii seedlings to single and combined B. goodwinii and drought stresses depends on the health status of mother trees. Plants were grown from seeds collected from non-stressed healthy and drought-stressed unhealthy trees. Root weight and belowground to aboveground weight ratios were significantly higher in offspring of unhealthy mother trees, suggesting that drought stress regulated the performance of Q. brantii in the subsequent generation. Brenneria goodwinii followed by drought had synergistic negative effects on seedlings (reduced plant growth, reduced xylem vessel size and reduced relative water content of tissues) and induced more injury (reduced leaf chlorophyll content and increased root electrolyte leakage) in offspring of unhealthy trees. Increased adaptation to drought in plants germinating from drought-stressed trees was observed and the effects persisted over the vegetative period, after the plants were rewatered. The results provide a first evidence of transgenerational plasticity in response to drought stress in trees. It is concluded that the health status of trees influences the response of offspring to combined stress.