Physiological aspects of recalcitrance in embryonic axes of Quercus robur L.

1992 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 215-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Poulsen ◽  
E. N. Eriksen

AbstractThe sorption isotherm for excised embryonic axes of recalcitrant (i.e. desiccation-sensitive) Quercus robur L. acorns was determined to find the relation between moisture content and water potential. Subsequently, physiological studies on the effect of desiccating the axes to a range of water potentials were undertaken. The respiratory capacity declined steeply after short exposure to water potentials from −5 to −30 MPa. The leachate conductivity increased significantly after exposure to −5 MPa and rose steeply after exposure to between −12 and −40 MPa. Axes were equilibrated at different relative humidities and the proline content showed a 15-fold increase with a peak value at −10 MPa. It was concluded that the critical water potential for initiation of damage was −5 MPa, and that axes accumulated proline as a response to desiccation stress. The embryonic axes from Q. robur behave more like typical vegetative tissue of angiosperms than like orthodox seeds.

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis M. Brown

A severe inhibitory decrease in water potential owing to salinity increase (ψ = −0.2 to −5.5 MPa) was tolerated in Nannochloris bacillaris Naumann if an intermediate salinity step at ψ = −2.6 MPa was provided. Photosynthesis, respiration, and growth were all enhanced by the provision of an intermediate step. The length of time of the application of the intermediate salinity step was critical to the resulting abilities of the cells to exhibit substantial adaptation. Increasing the length of the intermediate step from 10 to 120 min resulted in a 168-fold increase in the rate of photoassimilation of bicarbonate. Adaptation of other functions (e.g., growth) took much longer. The effects of pulse shocks, downward then upward water potentials, indicated that when there was an inhibition of photosynthesis and it was irreversible over the short term. Pulse shocks to noninhibitory water potentials did not cause inhibition. These results were correlated with measurements of volume changes, rates of excretion of solutes, and ultrastructural changes.


1994 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. E. Finch-Savage ◽  
P. S. Blake

AbstractFruit and seed development in Quercus robur L. were studied on a single tree over five consecutive seasons. Patterns of growth in the cotyledons and embryonic axes differed between years and resulted in seeds of very different sizes. Moisture content at shedding also differed between years, and late-shed seeds had lower moisture contents than early-shed seeds. Moisture content at shedding was negatively correlated with desiccation tolerance. Seed development in Q. robur therefore appeared indeterminate and did not end in a period of rapid desiccation.Sensitivity to desiccation in Q. robur was not due to an inability to accumulate dehydrin proteins, ABA or soluble sugars, substances that have been linked with the acquisition of desiccation tolerance in orthodox seeds. There were great similarities between several aspects of Q. robur seed development and that of orthodox seeds before the latter entered the terminal phase of rapid desiccation. This pattern of seed development contrasted with that reported for the highly desiccation-sensitive seeds of Avicennia marina.


2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 697-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Sánchez-Urdaneta ◽  
Cecilia Peña-Valdivia ◽  
Carlos Trejo ◽  
J. Aguirre R. ◽  
Elizabeth Cárdenas S.

1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 569-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
YADVINDER SINGH ◽  
E. G. BEAUCHAMP

Two laboratory incubation experiments were conducted to determine the effect of initial soil water potential on the transformation of urea in large granules to nitrite and nitrate. In the first experiment two soils varying in initial soil water potentials (− 70 and − 140 kPa) were incubated with 2 g urea granules with and without a nitrification inhibitor (dicyandiamide) at 15 °C for 35 d. Only a trace of [Formula: see text] accumulated in a Brookston clay (pH 6.0) during the transformation of urea in 2 g granules. Accumulation of [Formula: see text] was also small (4–6 μg N g−1) in Conestogo silt loam (pH 7.6). Incorporation of dicyandiamide (DCD) into the urea granule at 50 g kg−1 urea significantly reduced the accumulation of [Formula: see text] in this soil. The relative rate of nitrification in the absence of DCD at −140 kPa water potential was 63.5% of that at −70 kPa (average of two soils). DCD reduced the nitrification of urea in 2 g granules by 85% during the 35-d period. In the second experiment a uniform layer of 2 g urea was placed in the center of 20-cm-long cores of Conestogo silt loam with three initial water potentials (−35, −60 and −120 kPa) and the soil was incubated at 15 °C for 45 d. The rate of urea hydrolysis was lowest at −120 kPa and greatest at −35 kPa. Soil pH in the vicinity of the urea layer increased from 7.6 to 9.1 and [Formula: see text] concentration was greater than 3000 μg g−1 soil. There were no significant differences in pH or [Formula: see text] concentration with the three soil water potential treatments at the 10th day of the incubation period. But, in the latter part of the incubation period, pH and [Formula: see text] concentration decreased with increasing soil water potential due to a higher rate of nitrification. Diffusion of various N species including [Formula: see text] was probably greater with the highest water potential treatment. Only small quantities of [Formula: see text] accumulated during nitrification of urea – N. Nitrification of urea increased with increasing water potential. After 35 d of incubation, 19.3, 15.4 and 8.9% of the applied urea had apparently nitrified at −35, −60 and −120 kPa, respectively. Nitrifier activity was completely inhibited in the 0- to 2-cm zone near the urea layer for 35 days. Nitrifier activity increased from an initial level of 8.5 to 73 μg [Formula: see text] in the 3- to 7-cm zone over the 35-d period. Nitrifier activity also increased with increasing soil water potential. Key words: Urea transformation, nitrification, water potential, large granules, nitrifier activity, [Formula: see text] production


Antioxidants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Wojciechowska ◽  
Shirin Alipour ◽  
Ewelina Stolarska ◽  
Karolina Bilska ◽  
Pascal Rey ◽  
...  

Norway maple and sycamore produce desiccation-tolerant (orthodox) and desiccation-sensitive (recalcitrant) seeds, respectively. Drying affects reduction and oxidation (redox) status in seeds. Oxidation of methionine to methionine sulfoxide (MetO) and reduction via methionine sulfoxide reductases (Msrs) have never been investigated in relation to seed desiccation tolerance. MetO levels and the abundance of Msrs were investigated in relation to levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion radical and hydroxyl radical (•OH), and the levels of ascorbate and glutathione redox couples in gradually dried seeds. Peptide-bound MetO levels were positively correlated with ROS concentrations in the orthodox seeds. In particular, •OH affected MetO levels as well as the abundance of MsrB2 solely in the embryonic axes of Norway maple seeds. In this species, MsrB2 was present in oxidized and reduced forms, and the latter was favored by reduced glutathione and ascorbic acid. In contrast, sycamore seeds accumulated higher ROS levels. Additionally, MsrB2 was oxidized in sycamore throughout dehydration. In this context, the three elements •OH level, MetO content and MsrB2 abundance, linked together uniquely to Norway maple seeds, might be considered important players of the redox network associated with desiccation tolerance.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 845
Author(s):  
Helena Hnilickova ◽  
Kamil Kraus ◽  
Pavla Vachova ◽  
Frantisek Hnilicka

In this investigation, the effect of salt stress on Portulaca oleracea L. was monitored at salinity levels of 100 and 300 mM NaCl. At a concentration of 100 mM NaCl there was a decrease in stomatal conductance (gs) simultaneously with an increase in CO2 assimilation (A) at the beginning of salt exposure (day 3). However, the leaf water potential (ψw), the substomatal concentration of CO2 (Ci), the maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), and the proline and malondialdehyde (MDA) content remained unchanged. Exposure to 300 mM NaCl caused a decrease in gs from day 3 and a decrease in water potential, CO2 assimilation, and Fv/Fm from day 9. There was a large increase in proline content and a significantly higher MDA concentration on days 6 and 9 of salt stress compared to the control group. After 22 days of exposure to 300 mM NaCl, there was a transition from the C4 cycle to crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), manifested by a rapid increase in substomatal CO2 concentration and negative CO2 assimilation values. These results document the tolerance of P. oleracea to a lower level of salt stress and the possibility of its use in saline localities.


1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 377 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Alvino ◽  
M Centritto ◽  
FD Lorenzi

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plants were grown in 1 m2 lysimeters under two different water regimes in order to investigate differences in the spatial arrangements of the leaves and to relate this to daily assimilation rates of leaves of the canopy. The control regime (well-watered (W) treatment) was irrigated whenever the accumulated 'A' pan evaporation reached 4 cm, whereas the water-stressed (S) treatment was watered whenever the predawn leaf water potential fell below -1 MPa. During the growing cycle, equal numbers of sun and shade leaves were chosen from the apical, middle and basal parts of the canopy, corresponding to groups of leaves of increasing age. The CO2 exchange rate (CER) was measured at 0830, 1230 and 1530 hours on 8 days along the crop cycle, on leaves in their natural inclination and orientation. Leaf water potentials were measured on apical leaves before dawn and concurrently with gas exchange measurements. Control plants maintained predawn leaf water potential at -0.3 MPa, but S plants reached values lower than -1.2 MPa. Midday leaf water potentials were about twice as low in the S plants as in the controls. Water stress reduced LA1 during the period of crop growth, and dry matter production at harvest. Stressed apical leaves appeared to reduce stress by changing their inclination. They were paraheliotropic around midday and diaheliotropic at 0830 and 1530 hours. The CER values of the S treatment were significantly lower than those of the W treatment in apical and middle leaves, whereas the CER of basal leaves did not differ in either treatments. In the S treatment, reduction in the CER values of sunlit apical leaves was more evident in the afternoon than at midday or early in the morning, whereas basal leaves were less affected by water than basal stress leaves if sunlit, and negligibly in shaded conditions.


2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-357
Author(s):  
Baghdad Science Journal

Filed experiment was conducted to test the effect of saline water and potassium fertilizers rate on proline and water potential of Pisum sativum L. (Var.Senador Cambados ) leaves . Treatments of the experiment included two levels of water salinity( 2, 7 dSm-1) as a main plot and fertilizer rates as a sub plot. Results indicated that irrigation of plant with saline water 7 dSm-1 and fertilization 150 kg/donum increased proline accumulation and water potential 0.31 mmol/g,-17.00 bar at 9 AM morning and 0.62 mmol/g , -21.00 bar at 3 PM afternoon ,Irrigating plant with a 2 dSm-1 and fertilization 300 kg/donum decreased proline accumulation and water potential of leaves 0.22 mmol/g, -16.00 bar at 9 AM and 0.43 mmol/g,-18.00 bar at 3 PM . Irrigation plants with saline water 7 dSm-1 and fertilizer with 150 kg/ Donum K2SO4 increased Root/Shoot to 0.89 ,while 0.41 after irrigation with 2 dSm-1 saline water and fertilization with 300 kg/ Donum K2SO4 . The Na/K ratio increased to 0.53 under 7 dSm-1 of irrigation water and 150 kg/Donum fertilization and decreased to 0.1 under 2 dSm-1 irrigation water and fertilized 300 kg/ Donum . The results lead to the conclusion that potassium fertilization may reduce the inhibitory effect of increasing salinity of irrigation water on pea.


1973 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 591 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Darbyshire ◽  
BT Steer

A pressure-membrane technique has been developed to physically manipulate the water potential of in vitro enzyme preparations. Enzyme preparations were subjected to a range of water potentials using this technique.


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