Wild Plants in the Qatari Peninsula are Hidden Gene Bank for Future Research: Perspectives of Desirable Traits

Wild plants and the associated microorganisms at the Qatari deserts and Sabkhas have many desirable traits for improvement of plant resistance and cope at various environmental stresses including salinity, drought, high temperatures, and pollution. Most of native plants are recognized and grouped under three main aspects: (1) water, (2) solutes, and (3) structures. Plants might have different abilities to absorb and store water, and to build and accumulate organic and inorganic solutes, as well as developing structures to regulate these components. Understanding the mechanisms of plant resistance to various harsh environmental conditions are of great importance in determining the traits these plants have, which can be considered as experimental materials for further modern and contemporary studies to develop crop plants with desirable traits and well adapted to those conditions. Native plants and their associated microorganisms at the Sabkhas and deserts are well equipped with various traits to deal with these harsh environments; these are the hidden gene banks for modern and contemporary future research. Native plants at the coastal line or in the desert of the Qatari peninsula can avoid drought and salinity either by storing water or efficiently absorbing it, succulent plants, for example, could have water cells in various plant organs to confer such mechanisms. Water spender plants, on the other hand, can avoid drought by producing extensive roots or intensive fibrous root system to increase the active root surface area. Salt regulation and organic solute accumulation in these plants is another pivotal area of research to exploit and improve some traits in crop plants. Organic solutes might play significant role to protect the membrane and machinery systems from severe stresses. However, developing transgenic plants by salt regulation might not feasible for crop plants, while the potential of accumulation of proline and/or glycine betaine in many native plants in Qatar could be a possible trait to be exploited to develop plants that are well adapted under dry and/or saline environments. The microorganisms associated with the native plants might play significant roles to introduce traits and confer these plants with many features against those harsh environmental stresses. Morphological and structural features of wild plants might be a good source of traits to be used in the modern gene technology. Some characteristics of cell walls, cuticle thickness and possibly the chemical composition of plasma membranes should be considered.