Contrasting flooding tolerance strategies in Rorippa

Differential responses of closely related species to submergence can provide insights into the evolution and mechanisms of submergence tolerance. Akman et al. study two species of yellow cress, Rorippa amphibia and R. sylvestris, that can survive months of submergence and determine that R. amphibia elongates its stem to reach the water surface at the expense of consuming carbohydrate reserves, while R. sylvestris waits in a quiescent state for the water to subside. Being close relatives of the model plant arabidopsis, Rorippa species constitute a good model for studying the molecular basis of extreme submergence tolerance with their escape and quiescence strategies.