water were tested. These include direct aerial absorption through the stems and the movement of coalesced water along the stems. A Wingscape time-lapse camera together with a Lascar humidity logger, and a Leaf-Wetness Sensor were used to determine presence and duration of moisture. Chlorophyll a fluorescence was employed to evaluate the overall vitality of the plants before and after fog events. Preliminary results indicate likely direct absorption of water through the stem and an increase in the chlorophyll a fluorescence intensity after a fog events. These results indicate that the !nara plant may greatly benefit from fog as a supplementary source of moisture. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2017.01.059 Physiological and biochemical responses of sorghum to drought stress T. Goche a , S. Chivasa b , R. Ngara a a Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State-Qwaqwa Campus, Private Bag X13, Phuthaditjhaba 9866, South Africa b Department of Biosciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom E-mail address: tatendagoche@gmail.com (T. Goche) Drought is a major threat to global food security and is anticipated to worsen, severely curtailing the global economy, as forecast by many climatic models predicting increased frequency and duration of drought episodes. Understanding plant adaptive re- sponses to drought stress could prove crucial in developing new biotechnological solutions to avert crop yield losses to drought. Sorghum is an African indigenous crop well adapted to thrive on marginal lands, making it a suitable model system to study drought stress. We are using drought-tolerant and susceptible sorghum varieties to study the biochemical and molecular changes underpin- ning the adaptive responses to drought. Detailed morphological analyses of plants subjected to drought stress and then re-watered to recover revealed striking differences between the sorghum varieties. Relative water content, fresh and dry biomass, and other growth parameters for both roots and shoots were protected in the drought- tolerant variety, while the susceptible variety was adversely affected and had poor recovery after irrigation. Examination of physiological responses, such as stomatal conductance and stabilisation of chlo- rophyll, mirrored the morphological adaptations we observed. Systematic analysis of the major stress defence systems is on-going. The ultimate goal of this project is to use these sorghum varieties as an experimental system to identify differentially expressed proteins during drought stress and recovery. This will provide key data for better understanding plant adaptive responses to drought and driving agri-tech innovation in this area. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2017.01.060 Phytophthora cinnamomi: A driver behind endangered flora in the CFR? J.M. Groenewald a , J.M. Hulbert b,c , F. Roets c a Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa b Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Pretoria, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, South Africa c Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa E-mail address: jeffreygroenewald2@gmail.com (J.M. Groenewald) Phytophthora cinnamomi is a generalist plant pathogen that was introduced into the Cape Floristic Region (CFR). By 1984, it had been isolated from 83 indigenous plant species in the South Western Cape. Numerous populations of plant taxa are now declining in the CFR. We reviewed the threat posed by P. cinnamomi based on the current red list statuses of these species (http://redlist.sanbi.org). Thirty of the 83 susceptible host species are listed as threatened, of which five are critically endangered. We then ranked all threatened and rare species according to their vulnerability, with the most vulnerable species considered to be those with the smallest distribution size. Taxa at the higher end of this vulnerability scale should receive immediate focused attention to minimize the threat of extinction due to the exotic P. cinnamomi. Based on our findings, we recommend further research regarding the distribution, prevalence and impact of P. cinnamomi in the CFR. We also suggest that Cape Citizen Science (http://citsci.co.za) could be a platform for providing observational data on the current distribution of P. cinnamomi. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2017.01.061 A ‘footprint’ of desiccation tolerance in the genome of the resurrection plant Xerophyta viscosa H.W.M. Hilhorst a , M.-C.D. Costa b , J.M. Farrant b a Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, Wageningen 6700AA, The Netherlands b Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa E-mail address: henk.hilhorst@wur.nl (H.W.M. Hilhorst) Desiccation tolerance is common in seeds and various other organisms but only a few higher plants possess vegetative desiccation tolerance. These ‘resurrection species’ may serve as ideal models for the ultimate design of crops with enhanced drought tolerance. To understand the molecular and genetic mechanisms enabling vegetative desiccation tolerance we produced a high-quality whole-genome sequence for the resurrection plant Xerophyta viscosa and assessed transcriptome changes during its dehydration. Data revealed induction of transcripts typically associated with desiccation tolerance in seeds, and involvement of orthologues of ABI3 and ABI5, both key regulators of seed maturation. Dehydration resulted in down regulation of genes located in genomic ‘anhydrobiosis-related islands’ (ARids), possibly reflecting the cessation of growth that allows for the expression of desiccation tolerance. Vegetative desiccation tolerance in X. viscosa was found to be uncoupled from drought-induced senescence. We propose that vegetative desiccation tolerance arose by redirection of genetic information from desiccation tolerant seeds and, hence, this may open a unique possibility to ‘unlock’ vegetative desiccation tolerance from the genome of desiccation sensitive crops. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2017.01.062 Optimising propagation techniques for Aloe peglerae and Aloe reitzii N.A. Hlatshwayo a,b , S.O. Amoo b , J.O. Olowoyo a a Department of Biology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, PO Box 139, Medunsa 0204, South Africa Abstracts 336