scholarly journals The Role of Carbohydrates in Active Osmotic Adjustment in Apple under Water Stress

1992 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 816-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongchun Wang ◽  
Gary W. Stutte

Greenhouse grown 2-year-old potted `Jonathan' apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh.) were subjected to various levels of water stress in February. Midday leaf water potential (ψW), leaf osmotic potential (ψS), soluble sugars, and starch contents of mature leaves were measured throughout the development of water stress to determine whether active osmotic adjustment could be detected and whether carbohydrates were involved. Active adjustments of 0.6 MPa were observed 3 and 5 days, respectively, after water stress was initiated. Leaf turgor potential (ψP) could not be maintained through the osmotic adjustment when ψW dropped below -1.6 MPa. Sorbitol, glucose, and fructose concentrations increased while sucrose and starch levels decreased significantly as water stress developed, strongly suggesting that sugar alcohol and monosaccharide are the most important osmotica for adjustment. Sorbitol was a primary carbohydrate in the cell sap and accounted for > 50% of total osmotic adjustment. The partitioning of newly fixed W-labeled photosynthates in mature leaves was not affected by water stress immediately after the 30-min 14CO2 treatment. All the W-labeled carbohydrates decreased in the labeled leaves very rapidly after 14CO2 labeling. The decrease in 14C-sorbitol was greater than the decrease in other carbohydrates under both well-watered and stressed conditions. After 24 hours of water stress, however, the percentage of 14C-sorbitol increased while the percentages of sucrose, starch, glucose, and fructose decreased significantly with increasing levels of stress. The ratio of 14C-sorbitol in leaves with ψW = -3.5 MPa to leaves with ψW = -0.5 MPa was significantly higher than that of 14C-sucrose, 14C-glucose, W-fructose, or 14C-starch.

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 481 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.Y Sambo ◽  
M.J Aston

The temperate pasture grass Phalaris tuberosa L. (cvv. Australian and Sirosa) was grown in soil under glasshouse conditions. When water was withheld, leaf xylem potential (�) decreased at the rate of 0.02 and 0.05 MPa per day in cvv. Australian and Sirosa, respectively, between 7 and 17 days, and reached a dawn value -0.25 (� 0.02) MPa and -0.56 (�0.08) MPa in the respective cultivars. These plants were moderately stressed. Between 17 and 23 days, when the experiment was terminated, stress developed more rapidly and � at dawn reached final values of -2.1 (�0.09) and -2.2 (�0.08) MPa in Australian and Sirosa phalaris, respectively. These plants were severely stressed. The leaf osmotic potential (��) decreased at similar rates as � in the stressed plants, thus maintaining the turgor potential (�*p) relatively constant with increasing water stress. Osmotic adjustment (��100/�) was judged by comparing �� at full turgor (�100/�) in stressed plants which had been rewetted, with �100/� of control unstressed plants. ��100/� of moderately stressed plants was 0.46 and 0.48 MPa in Australian and Sirosa phalaris, respectively. In severely stressed plants, the respective ��100/� values were 0.67 and 0.85 MPa.


1986 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 659 ◽  
Author(s):  
SP Robinson ◽  
GP Jones

Glycinebetaine was determined in leaves and in isolated chloroplasts of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Some leakage of glycinebetaine from the chloroplasts occurred during the isolation so the concentration in chloroplasts in vivo could be up to 1.5 times higher than that measured in isolated chloroplasts. It was demonstrated that any contamination of the chloroplast preparations by glycinebetaine originating from other cellular compartments or from broken chloroplasts would have amounted to less than 10% of the measured values. Leaf osmotic potential of salt-stressed plants was -2.09 MPa compared to -0.91 MPa in non-stressed controls. This was accompanied by a sixfold increase in glycinebetaine content in the leaf but the levels of choline and proline were not increased. In chloroplasts isolated from control leaves the calculated glycinebetaine concentration was 26 mM which was 10-fold higher than the concentration in the leaf as a whole but only contributed 7% of the osmotic potential of the chloroplast. Chloroplasts from salt-stressed plants contained up to 300 mM glycinebetaine which was 20 times the concentration in the leaf as a whole. The glycinebetaine concentration in chloroplasts from salt-stressed leaves was equivalent to an osmotic potential of -0.75 MPa and this contributed 36% of the osmotic potential of the chloroplast and 64% of the decrease in osmotic potential induced by salt stress. At least 30-40% of the total leaf glycinebetaine was localized in the chloroplast. The results demonstrate that glycinebetaine accumulates in chloroplasts to provide osmotic adjustment during salt stress and provide support for the hypothesis that glycinebetaine is a compatible cytoplasmic solute which may be preferentially located in the cytoplasm of cells.


1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Wang ◽  
B Quebedeaux ◽  
GW Stutte

Potted apple (Malus domestica Borkh. cv. Jonathan) trees were subjected to water stress in a greenhouse. Midday leaf water potential (ΨW), osmotic potential (ΨS), soluble carbohydrates, and starch content of expanding and mature leaves, stems, and roots were measured to determine whether active osmotic adjustment occurred and if water stress affected carbohydrate metabolism. Mature leaves had the highest total soluble carbohydrate level (357 mM) and lowest Ψ (-1.85 MPa), followed by young leaves (278 mM, -1.58 MPa), stems (115 mM, -1.02 MPa), and roots (114 mM, -0.87 MPa). Sorbitol was the major component in all organs ranging from 53% of total soluble carbohydrate in young leaves to 73% in mature leaves. When ΨW decreased from -1.0 to -3.2 MPa, active osmotic adjustments of 0.3-0.4 MPa were observed in mature leaves, stems, and roots while a significantly higher adjustment of 1.0 MPa was detected in young leaves 5 days after the initiation of water stress. Sorbitol levels in leaves and stems gradually increased as ΨW decreased from -1.0 to -2.5 MPa, and then remained relatively stable or decreased slightly as ΨW decreased from -2.5 to -3.2 MPa. However, the percentage of soluble carbohydrate as sorbitol in roots decreased in response to water stress. Sucrose concentration decreased in mature leaves and stems, but increased in young leaves and roots as ΨW decreased. Starch concentrations in stems and roots also decreased as water stress developed. The sorbitol to sucrose ratios increased in mature leaves, but decreased in roots in response to water stress.


1999 ◽  
Vol 344 (2) ◽  
pp. 503-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annabelle DÉJARDIN ◽  
Lubomir N. SOKOLOV ◽  
Leszek A. KLECZKOWSKI

Sucrose synthase (Sus) is a key enzyme of sucrose metabolism. Two Sus-encoding genes (Sus1 and Sus2) from Arabidopsis thaliana were found to be profoundly and differentially regulated in leaves exposed to environmental stresses (cold stress, drought or O2 deficiency). Transcript levels of Sus1 increased on exposure to cold and drought, whereas Sus2 mRNA was induced specifically by O2 deficiency. Both cold and drought exposures induced the accumulation of soluble sugars and caused a decrease in leaf osmotic potential, whereas O2 deficiency was characterized by a nearly complete depletion in sugars. Feeding abscisic acid (ABA) to detached leaves or subjecting Arabidopsis ABA-deficient mutants to cold stress conditions had no effect on the expression profiles of Sus1 or Sus2, whereas feeding metabolizable sugars (sucrose or glucose) or non-metabolizable osmotica [poly(ethylene glycol), sorbitol or mannitol] mimicked the effects of osmotic stress on Sus1 expression in detached leaves. By using various sucrose/mannitol solutions, we demonstrated that Sus1 was up-regulated by a decrease in leaf osmotic potential rather than an increase in sucrose concentration itself. We suggest that Sus1 expression is regulated via an ABA-independent signal transduction pathway that is related to the perception of a decrease in leaf osmotic potential during stresses. In contrast, the expression of Sus2 was independent of sugar/osmoticum effects, suggesting the involvement of a signal transduction mechanism distinct from that regulating Sus1 expression. The differential stress-responsive regulation of Sus genes in leaves might represent part of a general cellular response to the allocation of carbohydrates during acclimation processes.


1987 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 669 ◽  
Author(s):  
BP Naidu ◽  
GP Jones ◽  
LG Paleg ◽  
A Poljakoff-Mayber

Fifteen species of Melaleuca and two species of Callistemon from the field were examined to determine whether they accumulated nitrogen-containing compatible solutes and, if so, which. In addition to L-proline, N-methyl-L-proline (MP) (isolated for the first time from plants), trans-4-hydroxy-N-methyl- L-proline (MHP), and N, N'-dimethyl-trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline (DHP) were found in various combinations in the 15 Melaleuca species. M. lanceolata seedlings were subjected to water or salinity stress and M. uncinata to water stress under laboratory conditions. In both species significant reductions in leaf water potential (Ψw), osmotic potential (Ψs), turgor potential (Ψp), and relative water content (RWC) were observed in response to water stress. Salinised M. lanceolata plants showed considerable osmotic adjustment and maintained Ψp comparable to that of control plants; salinity, however, decreased RWC. In response to the imposed stresses under laboratory conditions, proline and MHP levels in M. lanceolata, and MHP and DHP levels in M. uncinata, increased. In addition to possible protective or osmotic roles in vivo, these proline analogues may be useful in chemotaxonomic investigations of Melaleuca species.


1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 1681-1688 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Tschaplinski ◽  
T. J. Blake

Organic solute concentrations of five hybrid poplar cultivars were compared to determine the relationship between water-stress tolerance, tissue solute concentration, and growth rate under field conditions. In the expanding foliage of the faster growing Populus deltoides Bartr. × P. balsamifera L. (Jackii 4), the saturated osmotic potential and turgor loss point osmotic potential were 0.18 MPa and 0.47 MPa lower, respectively, than in the slower growing P. deltoides × P. balsamifera (Jackii 7). The expanding foliage of Jackii 4 had higher (ca. 50%) concentrations of organic solutes, attributable mainly to salicyl alcohol, salicin, sucrose, and an unidentified compound. The coupling of high productivity and stress tolerance in Jackii 4 suggests that these may be compatible rather than competing attributes. Water-stress studies on P. deltoides Bartr. × P. nigra L. (DN 22) under greenhouse conditions demonstrated that stressed trees accumulated 4 times the soluble sugar concentrations of well-watered trees, lowering the saturated osmotic potential by 0.55 MPa and turgor loss point osmotic potential by 1.0 MPa. Leaves were the primary site of osmotic adjustment to water stress and roots showed no adjustment. The use of repeated drying cycles in planting stock may aid survival of postplanting stress in species capable of osmotic adjustment. The relationship between stress tolerance and solute concentrations in the greenhouse water-stress study paralleled that of the field study.


1980 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
MM Jones ◽  
NC Turner

Sunflower plants were grown in large volumes of soil and slowly water-stressed by withholding water. The tissue water relationships of leaves at various stages of stress and of leaves of equivalent well watered controls were studied by the pressure chamber technique. Plants were stressed either when leaf 17 was expanding or when it was fully expanded. When expanding leaves reached a moderate level of stress (predawn leaf water potential of -0.9 MPa), the osmotic potentials at full turgor and zero turgor were lower than the control values by 0.1 MPa and 0.2 MPa, respectively. When fully expanded leaves were stressed to a similar degree (predawn leaf water potential of - 1.1 MPa), the osmotic potentials at full turgor and zero turgor were lower than the control values by 0.2 MPa and 0.3 MPa, respectively. The development of more severe stress in the fully expanded leaves was not accompanied by any further osmotic adjustment. However, when the expanding leaves reached a predawn leaf water potential of -2.3 MPa, the values of leaf osmotic potential at full turgor and zero turgor were lower than the values for the well watered plants by 0.4 MPa and 0.6 MPa, respectively. In expanding leaves prestressed to a predawn leaf water potential of -2.3 MPa, the osmotic potential at full turgor was significantly less than the control values for at least 7 days after rewatering. Stress had no effect on the bulk modulus of elasticity. It is concluded that both expanding and fully expanded sunflower leaves show osmotic adjustment.


1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 525-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen G. Good ◽  
James L. Maclagan

The physiological responses of different species of Brassica to induced drought stress were studied by analysing the relationships between relative water content, leaf water potential and leaf osmotic potential during the onset of drought stress. These data indicate that while there was a decrease in leaf osmotic potential with the onset of drought stress, this did not result from a net increase in solutes. Therefore, these genotypes of Brassica do not appear able to osmoregulate under these drought conditions. Key words: Brassica, drought, osmoregulation, water stress


1995 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Tangpremsri ◽  
S Fukai ◽  
KS Fischer

From 47 S2 lines which had been extracted from a random mated population of sorghum, eight lines for a glasshouse experiment and four lines for a field experiment were divergently selected for variation in osmotic adjustment, and were grouped into two, High and Low osmotic adjustment (OA). Both the glasshouse and field experiments examined whether osmotic adjustment modified the plants' response to soil water deficit and also whether grain sink demand for assimilates, varied by removal of 50% spikelets, affected osmotic adjustment. In each experiment, there were well-watered control and water stress treatments. In both experiments, the dawn osmotic potential in the High OA group was always lower than in the Low OA group under water limiting conditions, and the difference was significant after anthesis. The difference in osmotic potential was about 0.1 MPa in the field and up to 0.25 MPa in the glasshouse. In the glasshouse experiment, removal of 50% spikelets at anthesis significantly decreased osmotic potential during grain filling, suggesting that osmotic adjustment is influenced by the availability of assimilates in the leaves. Under well-watered conditions, the two groups behaved very similarly in terms of maximum leaf area, green leaf area retention during grain filling, total dry matter production, grain yield and grain number in both experiments. Under water-limiting conditions, the High OA group produced larger maximum leaf area and had better leaf retention during grain filling. Despite similar water use, total dry matter was also significantly higher in the High OA group though the difference was small. Grain number was also greater in this group in both experiments, whereas grain yield was significantly higher in the High OA group in the field, but not in the glasshouse where severe water stress developed more rapidly. It is concluded that the adverse effect of water stress can be reduced by adopting sorghum genotypes with high osmotic adjustment. However, selection for high osmotic adjustment needs to ensure that osmotic adjustment is not solely due to small head size.


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