Warm Nights, Waxy Leaves: Exploring Interplay Between Epicuticular Wax and Nocturnal Transpiration

doi:10.1016/j.rsci.2025.08.002

Abstract

Nagaraju Spoorthi, Nedaravalli Manjappa Kavyashree, Vedamurthy Sushma, Preethi Vijayaraghavareddy, Sheshshayee Sreeman. Warm Nights, Waxy Leaves: Exploring Interplay Between Epicuticular Wax and Nocturnal Transpiration[J]. Rice Science, 2026, 33(1): 21-24.

Figures/Tables 1

Fig. 1. Variability in transpiration among rice genotypes with differing epicuticular wax (Ewax) content at varying night temperatures. A, Cumulative water transpired (CWT) over the entire night (18:00 to 6:00, CWTnight), CWT during the early night (18:00 to 0:00, CWTearly night), CWT during the late night (0:00 to 6:00, CWTlate night), and CWT during predawn hours (4:00 to 6:00, CWTpredawn) were measured in rice seedlings from 20 to 100 d after sowing. Mean transpiration rate (MTR) was calculated during the entire night (MTRnight), early night (MTRearly night), late night (MTRlate night), and predawn hours (MTRpredawn). Data are mean ± SD (n = 3). Different lowercase letters above bars indicate significant differences at P < 0.05 by one-way analysis of variance. B, CWTnight, percentage increase in CWT relative to 20 ºC, MTRnight, and percentage increase in MTR relative to 20 ºC were measured. IRG349 and IRG066 are high-Ewax genotypes, IRG355 and IRG263 are moderate-Ewax genotypes, and IRG277 and IRG335 are low-Ewax genotypes.

References 31

[1]	Bahuguna R N, Chaturvedi A K, Pal M, et al. 2022. Carbon dioxide responsiveness mitigates rice yield loss under high night temperature. Plant Physiol, 188(1): 285-300.
[2]	Blum A. 1975. Effect of the bm gene on epicuticular wax deposition and the spectral characteristics of sorghum leaves. SABRAO J, 7(1): 45-52.
[3]	Caird M A, Richards J H, Donovan L A. 2007. Nighttime stomatal conductance and transpiration in C₃ and C₄ plants. Plant Physiol, 143(1): 4-10.
[4]	Carvalho H D R, Heilman J L, McInnes K J, et al. 2020. Epicuticular wax and its effect on canopy temperature and water use of sorghum. Agric For Meteor, 284: 107893.
[5]	Chaffai R, Ganesan M, Cherif A. 2024. Regulatory mechanisms in plant response to cold stress. In: Plant Adaptation to Abiotic Stress: From Signaling Pathways and Microbiomes to Molecular Mechanisms. Singapore: Springer: 49-59.
[6]	Coupel-Ledru A, Lebon E, Christophe A, et al. 2016. Reduced nighttime transpiration is a relevant breeding target for high water-use efficiency in grapevine. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 113: 8963-8968.
[7]	Dai Q D, Wu L Y, Jia B H, et al. 2025. Accelerated warming of air and soil temperatures: Evidence from observations in Fuyang from 1985 to 2024. Theor Appl Climatol, 156(6): 297.
[8]	Dawson T E, Burgess S S O, Tu K P, et al. 2007. Nighttime transpiration in woody plants from contrasting ecosystems. Tree Physiol, 27(4): 561-575.
[9]	de Dios V R, Roy J, Ferrio J P, et al. 2015. Processes driving nocturnal transpiration and implications for estimating land evapotranspiration. Sci Rep, 5: 10975.
[10]	Desai J S, Lawas L M F, Valente A M, et al. 2021. Warm nights disrupt transcriptome rhythms in field-grown rice panicles. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 118(25): e2025899118.
[11]	Fricke W. 2019. Night-time transpiration: Favouring growth? Trends Plant Sci, 24(4): 311-317.
[12]	Fricke W. 2020. Energy costs of salinity tolerance in crop plants: Night-time transpiration and growth. New Phytol, 225(3): 1152-1165.
[13]	Holmes M G, Keiller D R. 2002. Effects of pubescence and waxes on the reflectance of leaves in the ultraviolet and photosynthetic wavebands: A comparison of a range of species. Plant Cell Environ, 25(1): 85-93.
[14]	Jarin A S, Islam M M, Rahat A, et al. 2024. Drought stress tolerance in rice: Physiological and biochemical insights. Int J Plant Biol, 15(3): 692-718.
[15]	Koch K, Ensikat H J. 2008. The hydrophobic coatings of plant surfaces: Epicuticular wax crystals and their morphologies, crystallinity and molecular self-assembly. Micron, 39(7): 759-772.
[16]	Medeiros C D, Falcão H M, Almeida-Cortez J, et al. 2017. Leaf epicuticular wax content changes under different rainfall regimes, and its removal affects the leaf chlorophyll content and gas exchanges of Aspidosperma pyrifolium in a seasonally dry tropical forest. S Afr N J Bot, 111: 267-274.
[17]	Nagaraju S, Ramesh M, Mujjassim N E, et al. 2024. Rice night-time thirst: Genotype nutrient needs reflected in nocturnal transpiration. Rhizosphere, 32: 100956.
[18]	Nievola C C, Carvalho C P, Carvalho V, et al. 2017. Rapid responses of plants to temperature changes. Temperature, 4(4): 371-405.
[19]	Rahman T, Shao M X, Pahari S, et al. 2021. Dissecting the roles of cuticular wax in plant resistance to shoot dehydration and low-temperature stress in Arabidopsis. Int J Mol Sci, 22(4): 1554.
[20]	Ramachandra A, Vijayaraghavareddy P, Purushothama C, et al. 2024. Decoding stomatal characteristics regulating water use efficiency at leaf and plant scales in rice genotypes. Planta, 260(3): 56.
[21]	Riederer M, Schreiber L. 2001. Protecting against water loss: Analysis of the barrier properties of plant cuticles. J Exp Bot, 52: 2023-2032.
[22]	Sadok W, Jagadish S V K. 2020. The hidden costs of nighttime warming on yields. Trends Plant Sci, 25(7): 644-651.
[23]	Sadok W, Lopez J R, Smith K P. 2021. Transpiration increases under high-temperature stress: Potential mechanisms, trade-offs and prospects for crop resilience in a warming world. Plant Cell Environ, 44(7): 2102-2116.
[24]	Shellakkutti N, Thangamani P D, Suresh K, et al. 2022. Cuticular transpiration is not affected by enhanced wax and cutin amounts in response to osmotic stress in barley. Physiol Plant, 174(4): e13735.
[25]	Shepherd T, Wynne Griffiths D. 2006. The effects of stress on plant cuticular waxes. New Phytol, 171(3): 469-499.
[26]	Sreeman S M, Vijayaraghavareddy P, Sreevathsa R, et al. 2018. Introgression of physiological traits for a comprehensive improvement of drought adaptation in crop plants. Front Chem, 6: 92.
[27]	Vijayaraghavareddy P, Vemanna R S, Yin X Y, et al.2020. Acquired traits contribute more to drought tolerance in wheat than in rice. Plant Phenomics, 2020: 5905371.
[28]	Wahid A, Gelani S, Ashraf M, et al. 2007. Heat tolerance in plants: An overview. Environ Exp Bot, 61(3): 199-223.
[29]	Yan Y L, Ryu Y, Dechant B, et al. 2023. Dark respiration explains nocturnal stomatal conductance in rice regardless of drought and nutrient stress. Plant Cell Environ, 46(12): 3748-3759.
[30]	Yang Z Q, Jiang Y H, Qiu R J, et al. 2023. Heat stress decreased transpiration but increased evapotranspiration in gerbera. Front Plant Sci, 14: 1119076.
[31]	Yi Y, Yano K. 2023. Nocturnal versus diurnal transpiration in rice plants: Analysis of five genotypes grown under different atmospheric CO₂ and soil moisture conditions. Agric Water Manag, 286: 108397.