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Journals / Anatolian Bryology / 2025 / Cilt: 11 Sayı: 2

Water Stress and Adaptation Mechanisms in Bryophytes

Briyofitlerde Su Stresi ve Adaptasyon Mekanizmaları

Kahraman Selvi(ÇANAKKALE ONSEKİZ MART ÜNİVERSİTESİ, YENİCE MESLEK YÜKSEKOKULU)0000-0002-6974-4441
Özcan Şimşek(ÇANAKKALE ONSEKİZ MART ÜNİVERSİTESİ, YENİCE MESLEK YÜKSEKOKULU)0000-0002-3210-7641
Pages
190–200
Publication Date
2025-12-12
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

This synthesis highlights how the structural simplicity of bryophytes conceals highly intricate physiological and molecular responses to water stress, aiming to provide a conceptual foundation for future omics (transcriptomic, proteomic) studies.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:The bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts), pioneers of terrestrial life, lack vascular systems that would actively maintain their water balance.
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Key Findings & Data:This review synthesizes, from an integrated morphological, ecological, and molecular perspective, the adaptive strategies these organisms have evolved to cope with this fundamental challenge.
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Conclusion & Impact:This synthesis highlights how the structural simplicity of bryophytes conceals highly intricate physiological and molecular responses to water stress, aiming to provide a conceptual foundation for future omics (transcriptomic, proteomic) studies.
🔬Design:Review & Systematic Survey
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Briyofitler · poikilohidri · su stresi

Abstract

The bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts), pioneers of terrestrial life, lack vascular systems that would actively maintain their water balance. This review synthesizes, from an integrated morphological, ecological, and molecular perspective, the adaptive strategies these organisms have evolved to cope with this fundamental challenge. The survival strategy of bryophytes is based on a poikilohydric lifestyle, which enables them to passively suspend (desiccate) and subsequently resume metabolic activity in response to water availability. At the morphological level, acrocarpous (cushion-forming) and pleurocarpous (mat-forming) growth forms optimize water-holding capacity (WHC) and capillarity. These structural adaptations allow bryophytes, at the ecological level, to buffer microclimatic conditions, play a key role in the global carbon cycle through peatlands, and serve as sensitive bioindicators for pollutants such as heavy metals due to their ectohydric water conduction. At the molecular level, desiccation tolerance (cryptobiosis) is regulated by a complex signaling network governed by Abscisic Acid (ABA). This network coordinates Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins that protect cellular structures, osmolytes such as proline and soluble sugars that maintain osmotic balance, and antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX) that prevent oxidative damage. This synthesis highlights how the structural simplicity of bryophytes conceals highly intricate physiological and molecular responses to water stress, aiming to provide a conceptual foundation for future omics (transcriptomic, proteomic) studies.

Özet

Karasal yaşamın öncüleri olan briyofitler (karayosunları, ciğerotları ve boynuzotları), su dengelerini aktif olarak koruyacak damar sistemlerinden yoksundur. Bu derleme, bu canlıların bu temel zorluğa karşı geliştirdikleri adaptasyon stratejilerini morfolojik, ekolojik ve moleküler düzeyleri entegre ederek bütüncül bir bakış açısıyla sentezlemektedir. Briyofitlerin hayatta kalma stratejisi, su mevcudiyetine göre metabolizmayı pasif olarak askıya alıp (desikasyon) yeniden başlatabildikleri "poikilohidrik" yaşam tarzına dayanır. Morfolojik düzeyde, akrokarpöz (yastık) ve plörokarpöz (mat) büyüme formları, su tutma kapasitesini (WHC) ve kapilariteyi optimize eder. Bu yapısal özellikler, ekolojik düzeyde briyofitlerin mikro-iklimi tamponlamasına, turbalıklar (peatlands) aracılığıyla küresel karbon döngüsünde kilit rol oynamasına ve ektohidrik yapıları sayesinde ağır metaller gibi kirleticiler için hassas biyoindikatörler olarak kullanılmalarına olanak tanır. Moleküler düzeyde ise, desikasyon toleransı (kriptobiyoz), Absisik Asit (ABA) tarafından yönetilen karmaşık bir sinyal ağı ile sağlanır. Bu ağ, hücresel yapıları koruyan LEA proteinlerini, ozmotik dengeyi sağlayan prolin ve çözünür şekerleri ozmolitleri ve oksidatif hasarı önleyen antioksidan enzimleri (SOD, CAT, APX) koordine eder. Bu sentez, briyofitlerin yapısal basitliğinin, su stresine karşı ne kadar karmaşık fizyolojik ve moleküler yanıtlar barındırdığını ortaya koymakta ve gelecekteki omik (transkriptomik, proteomik) çalışmalar için bir temel oluşturmayı hedeflemektedir.

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Cite This Article

Selvi, K., Şimşek, Ö. (2025). Water Stress and Adaptation Mechanisms in Bryophytes. Anatolian Bryology, Cilt: 11 Sayı: 2, 190–200. https://doi.org/10.26672/anatolianbryology.1822753

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