Recurrent cycles of drought stress led to low transcriptional reprogramming and greater accumulation of epigenetic marks in apple trees

Priming, the ability of plants to "remember" environmental stress, can enhance their response to recurrent stress events (Harris et al. 2023). Our data support the idea that an initially naïve plant can be primed after a single drought episode, modifying its response thresholds and regulatory networks, as proposed by Lämke and Bäurle (2017).

The progressive reduction in DEGs, dynamic changes in DMRs, and enhanced physiological responses all point toward priming as a key component of drought adaptation in seedlings.