scholarly journals Root morphological responses to population density vary with soil conditions and growth stages: The complexity of density effects

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Wang ◽  
Lei Li ◽  
Dao‐Wei Zhou

Plant Methods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Musse ◽  
G. Hajjar ◽  
N. Ali ◽  
B. Billiot ◽  
G. Joly ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Drought is a major consequence of global heating that has negative impacts on agriculture. Potato is a drought-sensitive crop; tuber growth and dry matter content may both be impacted. Moreover, water deficit can induce physiological disorders such as glassy tubers and internal rust spots. The response of potato plants to drought is complex and can be affected by cultivar type, climatic and soil conditions, and the point at which water stress occurs during growth. The characterization of adaptive responses in plants presents a major phenotyping challenge. There is therefore a demand for the development of non-invasive analytical techniques to improve phenotyping. Results This project aimed to take advantage of innovative approaches in MRI, phenotyping and molecular biology to evaluate the effects of water stress on potato plants during growth. Plants were cultivated in pots under different water conditions. A control group of plants were cultivated under optimal water uptake conditions. Other groups were cultivated under mild and severe water deficiency conditions (40 and 20% of field capacity, respectively) applied at different tuber growth phases (initiation, filling). Water stress was evaluated by monitoring soil water potential. Two fully-equipped imaging cabinets were set up to characterize plant morphology using high definition color cameras (top and side views) and to measure plant stress using RGB cameras. The response of potato plants to water stress depended on the intensity and duration of the stress. Three-dimensional morphological images of the underground organs of potato plants in pots were recorded using a 1.5 T MRI scanner. A significant difference in growth kinetics was observed at the early growth stages between the control and stressed plants. Quantitative PCR analysis was carried out at molecular level on the expression patterns of selected drought-responsive genes. Variations in stress levels were seen to modulate ABA and drought-responsive ABA-dependent and ABA-independent genes. Conclusions This methodology, when applied to the phenotyping of potato under water deficit conditions, provides a quantitative analysis of leaves and tubers properties at microstructural and molecular levels. The approaches thus developed could therefore be effective in the multi-scale characterization of plant response to water stress, from organ development to gene expression.



2019 ◽  
Vol 238 ◽  
pp. 27-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Cazanga ◽  
J.F. Ledent ◽  
E. von Bennewitz


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Wang ◽  
Dao-Wei Zhou

Abstract The relationships among developmental stability, canalization and phenotypic plasticity have not been well understood. Inconsistent conclusions from different studies suggested the complexity of their associations, probably depending on specific traits, environmental contexts and plant growth stages. To address this issue, we conducted three experiments (EXP I ~ III) with several annual herbaceous species, to investigate the relationships among leaf (or cotyledon) developmental stability, canalization and plasticity and their variations with different biotic and abiotic environmental conditions and plant growth stages, with comparisons among different species at their early growth stage. We analyzed variations in mean trait value, lamina fluctuating asymmetry (FA), coefficient of variation (CV) and plasticity (RDPIs) and their correlations for lamina size (LS) of individual plants, for LS, petiole length (PL) and petiole angle (PA) of different plant layers in Abutilon theophrasti at three densities in infertile and fertile (or only fertile) soil conditions at three (or two) stages, and for cotyledon size (CS) of five species in contrasting light conditions and seeding depths. High vs. low density decreased LS (with negative RDPIs), FA indexes and CVs, either for individual plants or different layers, especially in fertile soil. Shading was more likely to increase CS (except for A. therophrasti) and FA and decrease CV; deep seeding increased CS of some species in full light, but decreased CS and FA of other species in shading (except for A. therophrasti). FA indexes more likely had positive correlations with mean value, CV and RDPIs of traits; correlations between CV and RDPIs can be positive, negative or insignificant. Correlations among the three variables were more likely positive or insignificant for traits of LS, CS and PL, but more likely negative or insignificant for PA. High density and infertile soil may favor more positive over negative correlations among variables. Results suggested higher levels of lamina FA more likely indicate higher growth rates of plants or modules. Developmental stability was more likely to have positive correlations with canalization, and negative correlations with plasticity, indicating certain common mechanisms associated with them. Environmental stresses can lead to greater phenotypic variations at different levels, facilitating cooperation between the three processes in dealing with environmental challenges.



1986 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. McGraw ◽  
P. R. Beuselinck ◽  
K. T. Ingram


1986 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 513 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Ferraris ◽  
DA Charles-Edwards

Well-watered crops of sweet sorghum (cv. Wray) and forage sorghum (cv. Silk) were grown in south-eastern Queensland. Treatments consisted of four sowing dates, two intra-row spacings and harvests taken at six physiological growth stages from the third ligule to 3 weeks after grain maturity. Plant density effects on the concentration of sugars and nitrogen were slight, and changes in yields of these components were a function of density effects on dry matter yields. At any growth stage, the concentration of sugars in both cultivars was decreased with delay in sowing date. The delay in sowing date led to an increased nitrogen concentration in cv. Wray, but in cv. Silk the nitrogen concentration was highest in early and late sowings. At maturity, the concentration of sugars in cv. Wray averaged 40'70, 10 times the level in cv. Silk. In both cultivars, accumulation was a near linear function of either time or radiation sum. The partitioning of carbohydrate differed little between cultivars but altered with their ontogeny. The efficiency of light use for sugars production was greater in cv. Wray and altered with ontogeny. In contrast, concentration of nitrogen was similar for both cultivars and decreased curvilinearly with time or degree days. The partitioning of nitrogen altered with ontogeny and the amount partitioned to leaf material was greater in cv. Silk pre-anthesis but was less post-anthesis. Yield of stem sugars in cv. Wray exceeded 10 t ha-1 when the crops were sown early in the season, but was only 3 t ha-1 with late-sown crops.



Crustaceana ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 88 (12-14) ◽  
pp. 1283-1299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahmida Wazed Tina ◽  
Mullica Jaroensutasinee ◽  
Krisanadej Jaroensutasinee

We examined the effects of population density on body size and burrow characteristics ofUca bengaliCrane, 1975. We predicted that (1) males in high-density areas (HD) should be larger in size and build higher quality burrows than males in low-density areas (LD), and (2) HD females should be larger in size, but build lower quality burrows than LD females, as HD females can find higher numbers of good quality male burrows around them for breeding and egg incubation. Our results showed that males and females in HD were larger in size than those in LD. Since HD males were larger in size, they built higher quality burrows than males in LD. On the other hand, even though LD females were smaller in size than HD ones, they built higher quality burrows than HD females. Our results thus indicate that density effects both body size and burrow characteristics.



2016 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Mansfield ◽  
Philippa J. Gerard ◽  
Mark R. H. Hurst ◽  
Richard J. Townsend ◽  
Derrick J. Wilson ◽  
...  


2001 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalind A. Ball ◽  
Ronald W. McNew ◽  
Earl D. Vories ◽  
Terry C. Keisling ◽  
Larry C. Purcell


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document