Also: desiccation tolerance, Craterostigma, Selaginella
Resurrection plants can dry out almost completely and revive within hours of watering. Scientists study them to make crops more drought tolerant.
Readiness: lab lab studies · prototype demonstrated objects · commercial products or buildings in real use · review summaries of other studies.
Bartels and Salamini reviewed how the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum survives drying out.
As reported in: Bartels, Salamini (2001). Desiccation Tolerance in the Resurrection Plant<i>Craterostigma plantagineum</i>. A Contribution to the Study of Drought Tolerance at the Molecular Level. Plant Physiology. doi:10.1104/pp.010765
Gechev and colleagues reviewed protective sugars, proteins and antioxidants that let resurrection plants survive drying.
As reported in: Gechev, Dinakar, Benina et al. (2012). Molecular mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in resurrection plants. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. doi:10.1007/s00018-012-1088-0
Dinakar and Bartels reviewed transcriptome, proteome and metabolome studies of resurrection plants.
As reported in: Dinakar, Bartels (2013). Desiccation tolerance in resurrection plants: new insights from transcriptome, proteome and metabolome analysis. Frontiers in Plant Science. doi:10.3389/fpls.2013.00482