• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.163-173
• /
• 2018

The biopolymer (BP) used in this study is mainly composed of xanthan gum and ${\beta}$-glucan derived from microorganism and has been introduced as a novel material for soil stabilization. However, the broad applicability of BP has been suggested in the field of geotechnical engineering while little information is available about the effects of BP on the vegetation. The goal of this study is to find the BP effects on the growth of Camelina sativa L. (Camelina) under drought condition. For more thorough evaluation of BP effects on the plant growth, we examined not only morphological but also physiological traits and gene expression patterns. After 25 days of drought treatment from germination in the soil amended with 0, 0.25, 0.5, and 1% BP, we observed that the BP concentration was strongly correlated the growth of Camelina. When plants were grown under drought stress, Camelina in 0.5% BP mixture showed better physiological parameters of the leaf stomatal conductance, electrolyte leakage and relative water content compared to those in control soil without BP. Plant recovery rate after re-watering was higher and the development of lateral root was lower in BP amended soil. RNA expression of Camelina leaf treated with/without drought for 7 and 10 days showed that aquaporin genes transporting solutes at bio-membrane, CsPIP1;4, 2;1, 2;6 and TIP1;2, 2;1, were induced more in the plants with BP amendment and drought treatment. These results suggest that the soil amended with BP has a positive effect on the transport of nutrients and waters into Camelina by improving water retention in soil under drought condition.