Down-regulation of photosynthesis by drought under field conditions in grapevine leaves

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 893 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Flexas ◽  
J. M. Escalona ◽  
H. Medrano

The importance of both stomatal closure and reduced carboxylation efficiency on the photo- synthesis decline in response to long term water stress was previously measured in field-grown grapevines. Here we address the question of whether water stress affects the photochemical capacity of leaves, measuring gas-exchange rates and chlorophyll fluorescence under drought and moderate irrigat- ion at intervals through the summer season during three consecutive years. We conclude that usually water stress does not induce photoinhibition in field-grown grapevines, even when stomatal conductance and photosynthesis are reduced to very low values. Moreover, down-regulat- ion of photochemical reactions is low, leading to a general pattern of photosynthetic response to drought consistent in large reductions of stomatal conductance (g), followed by a consistent decrease of CO2 assimilation (A) but with a much lower effect on electron transport rate (ETR). In consequence, the intrinsic water-use efficiency (A/g) increased, as well as the ratio ETR/A. It is suggested that increased electron transport to alternative pathways, such as photorespiration, prevented further down-regulation of ETR under drought conditions. These results are in agreement with our previous reports for potted plants. However it is clear that, under field conditions with a much more slowly developed water stress, ETR reductions are more attenuated than in potted plants, reducing their incidence in carbon assimilation, which seems to be mainly regulated by stomatal closure.

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mara de Menezes de Assis Gomes ◽  
Ana Maria Magalhães Andrade Lagôa ◽  
Camilo Lázaro Medina ◽  
Eduardo Caruso Machado ◽  
Marcos Antônio Machado

Thirty-month-old 'Pêra' orange trees grafted on 'Rangpur' lemon trees grown in 100 L pots were submitted to water stress by the suspension of irrigation. CO2 assimilation (A), transpiration (E) and stomatal conductance (g s) values declined from the seventh day of stress, although the leaf water potential at 6:00 a.m. (psipd) and at 2:00 p.m. (psi2) began to decline from the fifth day of water deficiency. The CO2 intercellular concentration (Ci) of water-stressed plants increased from the seventh day, reaching a maximum concentration on the day of most severe stress. The carboxylation efficiency, as revealed by the ratio A/Ci was low on this day and did not show the same values of non-stressed plants even after ten days of rewatering. After five days of rewatering only psi pd and psi2 were similar to control plants while A, E and g s were still different. When psi2 decreases, there was a trend for increasing abscisic acid (ABA) concentration in the leaves. Similarly, stomatal conductance was found to decrease as a function of decreasing psi2. ABA accumulation and stomatal closure occurred when psi2 was lower than -1.0 MPa. Water stress in 'Pera´ orange trees increased abscisic acid content with consequent stomatal closure and decreased psi2 values.


1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 421 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Escalona ◽  
J. Flexas ◽  
H. Medrano

Long-term induced water stress in field-grown grapevine leads to a progressive decline of stomatal conductance, accompanied by a decrease in CO 2 assimilation (40%). The apparent quantum yield also decreases (59%), which may reflect a relative increase in alternative processes for electron consumption. There is also a shift to non-stomatal regulation, as judged from significant depletions (37%) in maximum photosynthesis rate at saturating CO 2 related to limited ribulose biphosphate (RuBP) regeneration, whereas small, non-significant effects are observed on carboxylation efficiency. A high correlation (87%) between photosynthesis and stomatal conductance is observed for all experimental data and declines in intercellular CO 2 concentration parallel reductions in stomatal conductance. The data show that field response of grapevines to increasing soil water deficit involves stomatal and non-stomatal effects but, due to gradually induced drought, regulation mechanisms able to adjust mesophyll capacity to the average CO 2 supply. The non-stomatal adjustment seems to be exerted mainly in metabolic pathways related with the RuBP regeneration. Contrasting characteristics were observed for both cultivars. Tempranillo exploited the non-stressful conditions successfully, whereas Manto Negro, responding to its reputation as more drought resistant, showed a higher intrinsic water use efficiency, particularly for low water availability. This advantage seems to be due to lower non-stomatal limitations.


1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 549 ◽  
Author(s):  
SL Steinberg ◽  
MJ Mcfarland ◽  
JC Miller

A gradation, that reflects the maturity of the leaves, exists in the leaf water, osmotic and turgor potential and stomatal conductance of leaves along current and 1-year-old branches of peach. Predawn leaf water potentials of immature folded leaves were approximately 0.24 MPa lower than mature leaves under both well-watered and dry conditions. During the daytime the leaf water potential of immature leaves reflected the water potential produced by water flux for transpiration. In well- watered trees, mature and immature unfolded leaves had a solute potential at least 0.5 MPa lower than immature folded leaves, resulting in a turgor potential that was approximately 0.8 MPa higher. The turgor requirement for growth appeared to be much less than that maintained in mature leaves. As water stress developed and leaf water potentials decreased, the osmotic potential of immature folded leaves declined to the level found in mature leaves, thus maintaining turgor. In contrast, mature leaves showed little evidence of turgor maintenance. Stomatal conductance was lower in immature leaves than in fully mature leaves. With the onset of water stress, conductance of mature leaves declined to a level near that of immature leaves. Loss of turgor in mature leaves may be a major factor in early stomatal closure. It was concluded that osmotic adjustment played a role in maintenance of a leaf water status favorable for some growth in water-stressed immature peach leaves.


Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angie L. Gámez ◽  
David Soba ◽  
Ángel M. Zamarreño ◽  
José M. García-Mina ◽  
Iker Aranjuelo ◽  
...  

The total area under quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) cultivation and the consumption of its grain have increased in recent years because of its nutritional properties and ability to grow under adverse conditions, such as drought. Climate change scenarios predict extended periods of drought and this has emphasized the need for new crops that are tolerant to these conditions. The main goal of this work was to evaluate crop yield and quality parameters and to characterize the physiology of two varieties of quinoa grown under water deficit in greenhouse conditions. Two varieties of quinoa from the Chilean coast (Rainbow) and altiplano (Illpa) were used, grown under full irrigation or two different levels of water deficit applied during the grain filling period. There were no marked differences in yield and quality parameters between treatments, but the root biomass was higher in plants grown under severe water deficit conditions compared to control. Photosynthesis, transpiration and stomatal conductance decreased with increased water stress in both cultivars, but the coastal variety showed higher water use efficiency and less discrimination of 13C under water deficit. This response was associated with greater root development and a better stomatal opening adjustment, especially in the case of Rainbow. The capacity of Rainbow to increase its osmoregulant content (compounds such as proline, glutamine, glutamate, K and Na) could enable a potential osmotic adjustment in this variety. Moreover, the lower stomatal opening and transpiration rates were also associated with higher leaf ABA concentration values detected in Rainbow. We found negative logarithmic relationships between stomatal conductance and leaf ABA concentration in both varieties, with significant R2 values of 0.50 and 0.22 in Rainbow and Illpa, respectively. These moderate-to-medium values suggest that, in addition to ABA signaling, other causes for stomatal closure in quinoa under drought such as hydraulic regulation may play a role. In conclusion, this work showed that two quinoa cultivars use different strategies in the face of water deficit stress, and these prevent decreases in grain yield and quality under drought conditions.


2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Escalona ◽  
J. Flexas ◽  
H. Medrano

Long-term induced water stress in field-grown grapevine leads to a progressive decline of stomatal conductance, accompanied by a decrease in CO 2 assimilation (40%). The apparent quantum yield also decreases (59%), which may reflect a relative increase in alternative processes for electron consumption. There is also a shift to non-stomatal regulation, as judged from significant depletions (37%) in maximum photosynthesis rate at saturating CO 2 related to limited ribulose biphosphate (RuBP) regeneration, whereas small, non-significant effects are observed on carboxylation efficiency. A high correlation (87%) between photosynthesis and stomatal conductance is observed for all experimental data and declines in intercellular CO 2 concentration parallel reductions in stomatal conductance. The data show that field response of grapevines to increasing soil water deficit involves stomatal and non-stomatal effects but, due to gradually induced drought, regulation mechanisms able to adjust mesophyll capacity to the average CO 2 supply. The non-stomatal adjustment seems to be exerted mainly in metabolic pathways related with the RuBP regeneration. Contrasting characteristics were observed for both cultivars. Tempranillo exploited the non-stressful conditions successfully, whereas Manto Negro, responding to its reputation as more drought resistant, showed a higher intrinsic water use efficiency, particularly for low water availability. This advantage seems to be due to lower non-stomatal limitations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3182
Author(s):  
Verónica Sobejano-Paz ◽  
Teis Nørgaard Mikkelsen ◽  
Andreas Baum ◽  
Xingguo Mo ◽  
Suxia Liu ◽  
...  

During water stress, crops undertake adjustments in functional, structural, and biochemical traits. Hyperspectral data and machine learning techniques (PLS-R) can be used to assess water stress responses in plant physiology. In this study, we investigated the potential of hyperspectral optical (VNIR) measurements supplemented with thermal remote sensing and canopy height (hc) to detect changes in leaf physiology of soybean (C3) and maize (C4) plants under three levels of soil moisture in controlled environmental conditions. We measured canopy evapotranspiration (ET), leaf transpiration (Tr), leaf stomatal conductance (gs), leaf photosynthesis (A), leaf chlorophyll content and morphological properties (hc and LAI), as well as vegetation cover reflectance and radiometric temperature (TL,Rad). Our results showed that water stress caused significant ET decreases in both crops. This reduction was linked to tighter stomatal control for soybean plants, whereas LAI changes were the primary control on maize ET. Spectral vegetation indices (VIs) and TL,Rad were able to track these different responses to drought, but only after controlling for confounding changes in phenology. PLS-R modeling of gs, Tr, and A using hyperspectral data was more accurate when pooling data from both crops together rather than individually. Nonetheless, separated PLS-R crop models are useful to identify the most relevant variables in each crop such as TL,Rad for soybean and hc for maize under our experimental conditions. Interestingly, the most important spectral bands sensitive to drought, derived from PLS-R analysis, were not exactly centered at the same wavelengths of the studied VIs sensitive to drought, highlighting the benefit of having contiguous narrow spectral bands to predict leaf physiology and suggesting different wavelength combinations based on crop type. Our results are only a first but a promising step towards larger scale remote sensing applications (e.g., airborne and satellite). PLS-R estimates of leaf physiology could help to parameterize canopy level GPP or ET models and to identify different photosynthetic paths or the degree of stomatal closure in response to drought.


2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 653-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. V. CARR ◽  
G. LOCKWOOD

SUMMARYThe results of research into the water relations of cocoa are reviewed in the context of drought mitigation and irrigation need. Background information on the centres of production of the cocoa tree, and the role of water in crop development and growth processes, is followed by reviews of the effects of water stress on stomatal conductance, leaf water status and gas exchange, together with drought tolerance, crop water use and water productivity. Leaf and shoot growth occur in a series of flushes, which are synchronized by the start of the rains following a dry season (or an increase in temperature), alternating with periods of ‘dormancy’. Flowering is inhibited by water stress but synchronous flowering occurs soon after the dry season ends. Roots too grow in a rhythmic pattern similar to that of leaf flushes. Roots can reach depths of 1.5–2.0 m, but with a mass of roots in the top 0.2–0.4 m, and spread laterally >5 m from the stem. Stomata open in low light intensities and remain fully open in full sunlight in well-watered plants. Partial stomatal closure begins at a leaf water potential of about −1.5 MPa. Stomatal conductance is sensitive to dry air, declining as the saturation deficit increases from about 1.0 up to 3.5 kPa. Net photosynthesis and transpiration both consequently decline over a similar range of values. Little has been published on the actual water use of cocoa in the field. Measured ETc values equate to <2 mm d−1 only, whereas computed ETc rates of 3–6 mm d−1 in the rains and <2 mm d−1 in the dry season have also been reported. Despite its sensitivity to water stress, there is too a paucity of reliable, field-based published data of practical value on the yield responses of cocoa to drought or to irrigation. With the threat of climate change leading to less, or more erratic, rainfall in the tropics, uncertainty in yield forecasting as a result of water stress will increase. Social, technical and economic issues influencing the research agenda are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weverton P. Rodrigues ◽  
Jefferson R. Silva ◽  
Luciene S. Ferreira ◽  
José A. Machado Filho ◽  
Fabio A. M. M. A. Figueiredo ◽  
...  

Temperature increase assumes a prominent role in the context of expected climate change because of its significant impact on plant metabolism. High temperature can affect the carbon-assimilation pathway at both stomatal and non-stomatal levels, mainly through stomatal closure and photochemical and biochemical limitations. In general, however, plants have some ability to trigger acclimation mechanisms to cope with stressful conditions, especially if the limitations are imposed in a gradual manner during seasonal change. This study aims at evaluating changes at stomatal and photochemical levels in Coffea arabica and C. canephora under exposure to mild temperature (spring) and high temperature (summer). Potted plants were maintained in a greenhouse, watered to field capacity and subject to natural variations of light, temperature and relative humidity. In C. arabica, exposure to summer conditions decreased photosynthetic rates (A), stomatal conductance (gs) and stomatal density and increased intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) compared with spring values, whereas C. canephora plants maintained similar values in both seasons. However, C. canephora presented lower A and gs during spring than C. arabica. Because photosynthetic capacity (Amax), photosynthetic performance index and membrane permeability were similar between genotypes and seasons, and maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) and photosynthetic pigments were not affected in C. arabica in summer, we conclude that under high temperature conditions, stomatal closure imposes the major limitation on C. arabica photosynthesis in summer. Finally, both coffee genotypes were able to avoid damage to photochemistry pathway under supra-optimal temperatures.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia E. López-Calcagno ◽  
Kenny L. Brown ◽  
Andrew J. Simkin ◽  
Stuart J. Fisk ◽  
Tracy Lawson ◽  
...  

AbstractPrevious studies have demonstrated that independent stimulation of either electron transport or RuBP regeneration can increase the rate of photosynthetic carbon assimilation and plant biomass. In this paper, we present evidence that a multi-gene approach to simultaneously manipulate these two processes provides a further stimulation of photosynthesis. We report on the introduction of the cyanobacterial bifunctional enzyme fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase/sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase or overexpression of the plant enzyme sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase, together with expression of the red algal protein cytochrome c6, and show that a further increase in biomass accumulation under both glasshouse and field conditions can be achieved. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the simultaneous stimulation of electron transport and RuBP regeneration can lead to enhanced intrinsic water use efficiency under field conditions.One sentence summarySimultaneous stimulation of RuBP regeneration and electron transport results in improvements in biomass yield in glasshouse and field grown tobacco.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1104
Author(s):  
María R. Conesa ◽  
Wenceslao Conejero ◽  
Juan Vera ◽  
M. Carmen Ruiz-Sánchez

The physiological performance of early-maturing nectarine trees in response to water deficits was studied during the postharvest period. Two deficit irrigation treatments were applied, moderate and severe, and these were compared with a control treatment (fully irrigated). Stem water potential and leaf gas exchange (net CO2 assimilation rate, ACO2; transpiration rate, E; and stomatal conductance, gs) were measured frequently. Drought avoidance mechanisms included a decrease in stomatal conductance, especially in the case of the severe deficit treatment, which also showed a strong dependence of ACO2 on gs. Intrinsic water-use efficiency (ACO2/gs) was more sensitive than instantaneous water-use efficiency (ACO2/E) as an indicator to detect water deficit situations in nectarine trees. However, in contrast to the results obtained for other deciduous fruit trees, a poor correlation was found between ACO2/E and ACO2/gs, despite the important relation between E and gs. ACO2/E was also weakly correlated with gs, although this relationship clearly improved when the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) was included, along with gs as the independent variable. This fact reveals that apart from stomatal closure, E depends on the boundary layer conductance (gb), which is mediated by VPD through changes in wind speed. This suggests low values of the decoupling coefficient for this water-resilient species.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document