Desiccation tolerance in Craterostigma pumilum looks more similar to a developmental program than a stress response

The ability to withstand severe water loss (Desiccation tolerance (DT) ) is a vital trait for plants. A multilineage group of plants possesses DT in vegetative tissue and therefore represents an ultimate model for understanding vegetative DT. To elucidate the processes enabling vegetative DT, we studied the transcriptome, proteome, and metabolic profiles of the resurrection plant Craterostigma pumilum during dehydration and rehydration. The results indicate that embryonic traits which enable DT during seed maturations are wired in vegetative tissues of C. pumilum.