Ecophysiology and genetics of drought tolerance in sunflowers

Drought is a multifaceted stress that manifests itself at different levels of the plant’s organisation through adaptive responses determined by the characteristics of the genotype. The development of tools to model genotype behaviour under various climate scenarios is essential for predicting which genotypes are best suited to increasingly scarce water resources. What eco-physiological and genetic knowledge needs to be drawn upon to develop such tools for sunflowers? After outlining the main processes involved in the biological regulation of the plant’s water status and the molecular determinants of drought tolerance, the article presents the most significant findings from the literature to illustrate this research approach implemented as part of the ‘Tournesol 2010’ programme ’ programme.