• Purple passion fruit early water deficit response involves changes in physiological traits such as stomatal conductance, foliar temperature, proline accumulation, and electron transport dynamics. • Coding and non-coding transcriptomes show a joint dynamic and highly coordinated response to water deficit that is temporal and tissue dependent. • lncRNAs are co-expressed with mRNAs in modules associated with signal transduction, growth and photosynthesis. Purple passion fruit ( Passiflora edulis Sims f. edulis ) is a subtropical climbing vine of the genus Passiflora . Early drought responses involve interconnected physiological and transcriptional mechanisms, including photosynthetic regulation, water balance, signaling processes, and the activity of coding and non-coding RNAs. However, the relationship between physiological adjustments and transcriptional dynamics during these early stages remains poorly characterized. To address this, we evaluated physiological performance and transcriptomic profiles in purple passion fruit plants subjected to 5 and 10-day drought treatments. At the physiological level, early responses included modulation of stomatal conductance, proline accumulation, and adjustments of electron transport within thylakoid membranes. Transcriptomic analyses revealed a highly coordinated regulation between coding genes and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), modulating ABA-dependent stomatal closure, growth regulation, and photosynthetic capacity. Root and shoot tissues exhibited integrated transcriptional responses, suggesting systemic coordination under water deficit. These findings provide novel insights into the early drought response of purple passion fruit and highlight the central role of lncRNAs in transcriptional regulation. The results contribute to understanding drought strategies and identifying potential molecular targets for improving stress resilience in Passiflora species.
Rojas‐Bautista et al. (Wed,) studied this question.