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Plants optimize water use and carbon assimilation via transient regulation of stomata resistance and by limiting hydraulic conductivity in a long-term response of xylem anatomy. We postulated that without effective hydraulic regulation plants would permanently restrain water loss and photosynthetic productivity under salt stress conditions. We compared wild-type tomatoes to a transgenic type (TT) with impaired stomatal control. Gas exchange activity, biomass, starch content, leaf area and root traits, mineral composition and main stems xylem anatomy and hydraulic conductivity were analyzed in plants exposed to salinities of 1 and 4 dS m -1 over 60 days. As the xylem cannot easily readjust to different environmental conditions, shifts in its anatomy and the permanent effect on plant hydraulic conductivity kept transpiration at lower levels under unstressed conditions and maintained it under salt-stress, while sustaining higher but inefficient assimilation rates, leading to starch accumulation and decreased plant biomass, leaf and root area and root length. Narrow conduits in unstressed TT plants were related to permanent restrain of hydraulic conductivity and plant transpiration. Under salinity, TT plants followed the atmospheric water demand, sustained similar transpiration rate from unstressed to salt-stressed conditions and possibly maintained hydraulic integrity, due to likely impaired hydraulic regulation, wider conduits and higher hydraulic conductivity. The accumulation of salts and starch in the TT plants was a strong evidence of salinity tolerance via osmotic regulation, also thought to help to maintain the assimilation rates and transpiration flux under salinity, although it was not translated into higher growth., (© 2020 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

The linkage between K and the development of storage roots in root crops is partially understood, hence this experiment determined some of the mechanisms involved in cassava. The effects of 10, 40, 70, 100, 150 and 200 mg K l -1 fertigation on photosynthetic attributes, soluble carbohydrates, starch, metabolites, growth and yield were studied in a greenhouse. Storage root yield, number of storage roots, stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis reached maximum at 150 mg K l -1 . However, soluble carbohydrates and starch in the leaves significantly declined with an increasing concentration of K solution, similarly to the trend of glycerol in the leaves. Conversely, malic acid, citric acid and propionic acid gradually increased reaching maximum at 150, 150 and 70 mg K l -1 respectively. Combined, these results suggest that sugars were transported from the leaves to a stronger sink - the bulking storage roots. This and the increase of intermediate metabolites of tricarboxylic acid cycle provided the energy required for the bulking process and the development of the storage roots. Although the measured parameters indirectly link K to storage root development, they nonetheless form a basis for studies on direct interactions., (© 2019 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

Under natural conditions, plants are regularly exposed to combinations of stress factors. A common example is the conjunction between nitrogen (N) deficiency and excess light. The combined effect of stress factors is often ignored in studies using controlled conditions, possibly resulting in misleading conclusions. To address this issue, the present study examined the physiological behavior of Arabidopsis thaliana under the effect of varying nitrogen levels and light intensities. The joint influence of low N and excess light had an adverse effect on plant growth, chlorophyll and anthocyanin concentrations, photochemical capacity and the abundance of proteins involved in carbon assimilation and antioxidative metabolism. In contrast, no adverse physiological responses were observed for plants under either nitrogen limitation or high light (HL) intensity conditions (i.e. single stress). The underlying mechanisms for the increased growth in conditions of HL and sufficient nitrogen were a combination of chlorophyll accumulation and an increased number of proteins involved in C3 carbon assimilation, amino acids biosynthesis and chloroplast development. In contrast, combined stress conditions shifts plants from growth to survival by displaying anthocyanin accumulation and an increased number of proteins involved in catabolism of lipids and amino acids as energy substrates. Ultimately switching plants development from growth to survival. Our results suggest that an assessment of the physiological response to the combined effect of multiple stresses cannot be directly extrapolated from the physiological response to a single stress. Specifically, the synergistic interaction between N deficiency and saturating light in Arabidopsis plants could not have been modeled via only one of the stress factors., (© 2018 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

The parasite Phelipanche aegyptiaca infests tomato, a crop plant that is commonly cultivated in semi-arid environments, where tomato may be subject to salt stress. Since the relationship between the two stresses -salinity and parasitism - has been poorly investigated in tomato, the effects of P. aegyptiaca parasitism on tomato growing under moderate salinity were examined. Tomatoes were grown with regular or saline water irrigation (3 and 45 mM Cl - , respectively) in soils infested with P. aegyptiaca. The infested plants accumulated higher levels of sodium and chloride ions in the roots, shoots and leaves (old and young) under both salinity levels vs. non-infected plants. There was a positive linear correlation between P. aegyptiaca biomass and salt accumulation in young tomato leaves, and a negative linear correlation between parasite biomass and the osmotic potential of young tomato leaves. Concentrations of the osmoprotectants proline, myoinositol and sucrose were reduced in infected tomato plants, which impaired the host's osmotic adjustment ability. The sensitivity of P. aegyptiaca to salt stress was manifested as a decrease in biomass. In conclusion, P. aegyptiaca parasitism reduced the salt tolerance of tomato plants by promoting the accumulation of salts from the rhizosphere and impairing the host's osmotic adjustment ability., (© 2018 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

Two bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) cultivars, differing in their response to chilling, were exposed to three levels of root-zone temperatures. Gas exchange, shoot and root phenology, and the pattern of change of the central metabolites and secondary metabolites caffeate and benzoate in the leaves and roots were profiled. Low root-zone temperature significantly inhibited gaseous exchange, with a greater effect on the sensitive commercial pepper hybrid (Canon) than on the new hybrid bred to enhance abiotic stress tolerance (S103). The latter was less affected by the treatment with respect to plant height, shoot dry mass, root maximum length, root projected area, number of root tips and root dry mass. More carbon was allocated to the leaves of S103 than nitrogen at 17°C, while in the roots at 17°C, more nitrogen was allocated and the ratio between C/N decreased. Metabolite profiling showed greater increase in the root than in the leaves. Leaf response between the two cultivars differed significantly. The roots accumulated stress-related metabolites including γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), proline, galactinol and raffinose and at chilling (7°C) resulted in an increase of sugars in both cultivars. Our results suggest that the enhanced tolerance of S103 to root cold stress, reflected in the relative maintenance of shoot and root growth, is likely linked to a more effective regulation of photosynthesis facilitated by the induction of stress-related metabolism., (© 2017 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) plays a major role in photoprotection. Anastatica hierochuntica is an annual desert plant found in hot deserts. We compared A. hierochuntica to three other different species: Arabidopsis thaliana, Eutrema salsugineum and Helianthus annuus, which have different NPQ and photosynthetic capacities. Anastatica hierochuntica plants had very different induction kinetics of NPQ and, to a lesser extent, of photosystem II electron transport rate (PSII ETR), in comparison to all other plants species in the experiments. The major components of the unusual photosynthetic and photoprotective response in A. hierochuntica were: (1) Low NPQ at the beginning of the light period, at various light intensities and CO2 concentrations. The described low NPQ cannot be explained by low leaf absorbance or by low energy distribution to PSII, but was related to the de-epoxidation state of xanthophylls. (2) Relatively high PSII ETR at various CO2 concentrations in correlation with low NPQ. PSII ETR responded positively to the increase of CO2 concentrations. At low CO2 concentrations PSII ETR was mostly O2 dependent. At moderate and high CO2 concentrations the high PSII ETR in A. hierochuntica was accompanied by relatively high CO2 assimilation rates. We suggest that A. hierochuntica have an uncommon NPQ and PSII ETR response. These responses in A. hierochuntica might represent an adaptation to the short growing season of an annual desert plant., (© 2013 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

Drought stress is known to limit photosynthesis rates and to inflict photo-oxidative damage in grapevines. Grapevines, which are considered drought-tolerant plants, are characterized by diverse hydraulic and photosynthetic behaviors, depending on the cultivar. This research compared the photosynthesis and the photorespiration of Cabernet Sauvignon (Cs) (isohydric) and Shiraz (anisohydric) in an attempt to acquire a wider perspective on the iso/anisohydric phenomenon and its implications. Shiraz and Cs were subjected to terminal drought in the greenhouse. Soil water content (θ), leaf water potential (Ψl ) and stomata conductance (gs ) were measured to determine the cultivars' hydraulic behavior. Gas exchange and fluorometry measurements were taken at 21 and 2% O2 to acquire photosynthesis and photorespiration characteristics. Cs was found to behave in a near isohydric manner whereas Shiraz behaved in a near anisohydric manner. Compared to Shiraz, the reduced stomata conductance values of Cs were accompanied by higher water use efficiency and photorespiration rates, as well as photosystem II photochemical potential (Fv /Fm ). As compared with Shiraz, Cs compensated for lower stomata conductance by higher photosynthesis and photorespiration. These two processes contributed to higher electron flow rates that might have a role in photoinhibition avoidance, which was observed in the stability of Fv /Fm under drought stress., (Copyright © Physiologia Plantarum 2012.)