Most studies on plant response to drought have focused on vegetative
development. Morphological changes of reproductive development under various
drought conditions have not yet been fully studied. Hence, Arabidopsis
plants were grown under two drought conditions: moderate drought (45-50%
soil water content) and severe drought (30-35% soil water content). Plants
in moderate drought were still able to produce a similar number of siliques
and seeds as well-watered plants, in contrast to plants grown in severe
drought.

Analysis showed a change in the level of gene expression in more than four
thousand genes in plants under severe drought. Meanwhile, in those plants
under moderate drought, less than two thousand genes had changed their
levels of expression. Some genes were also found to alter their expression
only in moderate drought but not the severe drought, indicating distinct
sets of genes responsive to different levels of water availability.

Different pathways in reproductive tissues may be activated depending on the
level of drought. This helps plants to maximize its yield and balance the
resource consumption between vegetative and reproductive development during
drought stresses.

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