The Pneumatron estimates xylem embolism resistance in angiosperms based on gas diffusion kinetics: a mini-review

2020 ◽  
pp. 193-200
Author(s):  
S. Jansen ◽  
X. Guan ◽  
L. Kaack ◽  
C. Trabi ◽  
M.T. Miranda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Diffusion Kinetics ◽  
Xylem Embolism ◽  
Embolism Resistance

scholarly journals A User Manual to Measure Gas Diffusion Kinetics in Plants: Pneumatron Construction, Operation, and Data Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe L. Trabi ◽  
Luciano Pereira ◽  
Xinyi Guan ◽  
Marcela T. Miranda ◽  
Paulo R. L. Bittencourt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Printed Circuit Board ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
Diffusion Kinetics ◽  
Embolism Resistance ◽  
Construction Operation ◽  
Open Source Hardware ◽  
Gas Volume

The Pneumatron device measures gas diffusion kinetics in the xylem of plants. The device provides an easy, low-cost, and powerful tool for research on plant water relations and gas exchange. Here, we describe in detail how to construct and operate this device to estimate embolism resistance of angiosperm xylem, and how to analyse pneumatic data. Simple and more elaborated ways of constructing a Pneumatron are shown, either using wires, a breadboard, or a printed circuit board. The instrument is based on an open-source hardware and software system, which allows users to operate it in an automated or semi-automated way. A step-by-step manual and a troubleshooting section are provided. An excel spreadsheet and an R-script are also presented for fast and easy data analysis. This manual aims at helping users to avoid common mistakes, such as unstable measurements of the minimum and maximum amount of gas discharged from xylem tissue, which has major consequences for estimating embolism resistance. Major advantages of the Pneumatron device include its automated and accurate measurements of gas diffusion rates, including highly precise measurements of the gas volume in intact, embolised conduits. It is currently unclear if the method can also be applied to woody monocots, gymnosperm species that possess torus-margo pit membranes, or to herbaceous species.

scholarly journals No gas source, no problem: proximity to pre-existing embolism and segmentation affect embolism spreading in angiosperm xylem by gas diffusion

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyi Guan ◽  
Luciano Pereira ◽  
Scott McAdam ◽  
Kun-Fang Cao ◽  
Steven Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Difference ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Difference Threshold ◽  
Xylem Embolism ◽  
Gas Source ◽  
Reducing Gas ◽  
Detached Leaves ◽  
Embolism Resistance ◽  
Pneumatic Method ◽  
Strong Agreement

Embolism spreading in dehydrating angiosperm xylem is driven by gas movement between embolised and sap-filled conduits. Here, we examine how proximity to pre-existing embolism and hydraulic segmentation affect embolism propagation. Based on the optical method, we compared xylem embolism resistance between detached leaves and leaves attached to branches, and between intact leaves and leaves with cut minor veins for six species. Moreover, we directly compared the optical and pneumatic method on detached leaves. Embolism resistance of detached leaves was significantly lower than leaves attached to stems, except for two species with all vessels ending in their petioles. Cutting of minor veins showed limited embolism spreading in minor veins near the cuts prior to major veins. Moreover, there was strong agreement in embolism resistance between the optical and pneumatic method, with minor differences occurring during early stages of embolism formation. We conclude that embolism resistance may represent a relative trait, depending on the proximity and connectivity to pre-existing embolism as a gas source. Since embolism formation may not rely on a certain pressure difference threshold between functional and embolised conduits, we suggest that embolism is facilitated by pressure-driven gas diffusion, while hydraulic segmentation can prevent embolism propagation by reducing gas diffusion.

scholarly journals Pore constrictions in intervessel pit membranes provide a mechanistic explanation for xylem embolism resistance in angiosperms

2021 ◽  
Vol 230 (5) ◽  
pp. 1829-1843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucian Kaack ◽  
Matthias Weber ◽  
Emilie Isasa ◽  
Zohreh Karimi ◽  
Shan Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanistic Explanation ◽  
Xylem Embolism ◽  
Embolism Resistance

scholarly journals Climatic limits of temperate rainforest tree species are explained by xylem embolism resistance among angiosperms but not among conifers

2020 ◽  
Vol 226 (3) ◽  
pp. 727-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Laughlin ◽  
Sylvain Delzon ◽  
Michael J. Clearwater ◽  
Peter J. Bellingham ◽  
Matthew S. McGlone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Xylem Embolism ◽  
Temperate Rainforest ◽  
Embolism Resistance

scholarly journals Testing the plant pneumatic method to estimate xylem embolism resistance in stems of temperate trees

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 1016-1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya Zhang ◽  
Laurent J Lamarque ◽  
José M Torres-Ruiz ◽  
Bernhard Schuldt ◽  
Zohreh Karimi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Xylem Embolism ◽  
Temperate Trees ◽  
Embolism Resistance ◽  
Pneumatic Method

scholarly journals A Unit Pipe Pneumatic model to simulate gas kinetics during measurements of embolism in excised angiosperm xylem

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongmei Yang ◽  
Luciano Pereira ◽  
Guoquan Peng ◽  
Rafael V. Ribeiro ◽  
Lucian Kaack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Ideal Gas ◽  
Striking Similarity ◽  
Measuring Error ◽  
List Type ◽  
Gas Phases ◽  
Ideal Gas Law ◽  
Embolism Resistance ◽  
Physical Laws ◽  
Pneumatic Method

AbstractThe Pneumatic method has been introduced to quantify embolism resistance in plant xylem of various organs. Despite striking similarity in vulnerability curves between the Pneumatic and hydraulic methods, a modeling approach is highly needed to demonstrate that xylem embolism resistance can be accurately quantified based on gas diffusion kinetics.A Unit Pipe Pneumatic (UPPn) model was developed to estimate gas diffusion from intact conduits, which were axially interconnected by interconduit pit membranes. The physical laws used included Fick’s law for diffusion, Henry’s law for gas concentration partitioning between liquid and gas phases at equilibrium, and the ideal gas law.The UPPn model showed that 91% of the extracted gas came from the first two series of embolized, intact conduits, and only 9% from the aqueous phase after 15 s of simulation. Embolism resistance measured with a Pneumatic apparatus was systematically overestimated by 2 to 17%, corresponding to a typical measuring error of 0.11 MPa for P50 (the water potential equivalent to 50% of the maximum amount of gas extracted).Because results from the UPPn model are supported by experimental evidence, there is a good theoretical and experimental basis for applying the pneumatic method to research on embolism resistance of angiosperms.

scholarly journals Embolism resistance in petioles and leaflets of palms

2019 ◽  
Vol 124 (7) ◽  
pp. 1173-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thaise Emilio ◽  
Laurent J Lamarque ◽  
José M Torres-Ruiz ◽  
Andrew King ◽  
Guillaume Charrier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Xylem Embolism ◽  
Phylogenetic Relatedness ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Xylem Pressure ◽  
Palm Species ◽  
Embolism Resistance ◽  
Increasing Temperature

Abstract Background and aims Hydraulic studies are currently biased towards conifers and dicotyledonous angiosperms; responses of arborescent monocots to increasing temperature and drought remain poorly known. This study aims to assess xylem resistance to drought-induced embolism in palms. Methods We quantified embolism resistance via P50 (xylem pressure inducing 50 % embolism or loss of hydraulic conductivity) in petioles and leaflets of six palm species differing in habitat and phylogenetic relatedness using three techniques: in vivo X-ray-based microcomputed tomography, the in situ flow centrifuge technique and the optical vulnerability method. Key results Our results show that P50 of petioles varies greatly in the palm family, from −2.2 ± 0.4 MPa in Dypsis baronii to −5.8 ± 0.3 MPa in Rhapis excelsa (mean ± s.e.). No difference or weak differences were found between petioles and leaf blades within species. Surprisingly, where differences occurred, leaflets were less vulnerable to embolism than petioles. Embolism resistance was not correlated with conduit size (r = 0.37, P = 0.11). Conclusions This study represents the first estimate of drought-induced xylem embolism in palms across biomes and provides the first step towards understanding hydraulic adaptations in long-lived arborescent monocots. It showed an almost 3-fold range of embolism resistance between palm species, as large as that reported in all angiosperms. We found little evidence for hydraulic segmentation between leaflets and petioles in palms, suggesting that when it happens, hydraulic segregation may lack a clear relationship with organ cost or replaceability.

scholarly journals Linking drought‐induced xylem embolism resistance to wood anatomical traits in Neotropical trees

2020 ◽  
Vol 229 (3) ◽  
pp. 1453-1466
Author(s):  
Sébastien Levionnois ◽  
Steven Jansen ◽  
Ruth Tchana Wandji ◽  
Jacques Beauchêne ◽  
Camille Ziegler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Xylem Embolism ◽  
Neotropical Trees ◽  
Embolism Resistance

scholarly journals A user manual to measure gas diffusion kinetics in plants: Pneumatron construction, operation and data analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.L. Trabi ◽  
L. Pereira ◽  
X. Guan ◽  
M.T. Miranda ◽  
P.R.L. Bittencourt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Printed Circuit Board ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
Diffusion Kinetics ◽  
Xylem Vulnerability ◽  
Xylem Tissue ◽  
Construction Operation ◽  
Open Source Hardware

AbstractThe Pneumatron device presented measures gas diffusion kinetics in the xylem of plants. The device provides an easy, low-cost, and powerful tool for research on plant water relations. Here, we describe in detail how to construct and operate this device to estimate xylem vulnerability to embolism, and how to analyse pneumatic data. Simple and more elaborated ways of constructing a Pneumatron are shown, either using wires, a breadboard, or a printed circuit board. The instrument is based on an open-source hardware and software system, which allows users to operate it in an automated or semi-automated way. A step-by-step manual and a troubleshooting section are provided. An excel spreadsheet and an R-script are also presented for fast and easy data analysis. This manual should help new users to avoid common mistakes, especially regarding stable measurements of the minimum and maximum amount of gas that can be discharged from xylem tissue.

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