Differential modulation of host plant delta13C and delta18O by native and nonnative arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a semiarid environment

Native, drought-adapted arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) often improve host-plant performance to a greater extent than nonnative AMF in dry environments. However, little is known about the physiological basis for this differential plant response. Seedlings of Olea europaea and Rhamnus lycioides were inoculated with either a mixture of eight native Glomus species or with the nonnative Glomus claroideum before field transplanting in a semiarid area. Inoculation with native AMF produced the greatest improvement in nutrient and water status as well as in long-term growth for both Olea and Rhamnus. Foliar delta18O measurements indicated that native AMF enhanced stomatal conductance to a greater extent than nonnative AMF in Olea and Rhamnus.delta13C data showed that intrinsic water-use efficiency in Olea was differentially stimulated by native AMF compared with nonnative AMF. Our results suggest that modulation of leaf gas exchange by native, drought-adapted AMF is critical to the long-term performance of host plants in semiarid environments. delta18O can provide a time-integrated measure of the effect of mycorrhizal infection on host-plant water relations.     

The hydraulic limitation hypothesis revisited

We proposed the hydraulic limitation hypothesis (HLH) as a mechanism to explain universal patterns in tree height, and tree and stand biomass growth: height growth slows down as trees grow taller, maximum height is lower for trees of the same species on resource-poor sites and annual wood production declines after canopy closure for even-aged forests. Our review of 51 studies that measured one or more of the components necessary for testing the hypothesis showed that taller trees differ physiologically from shorter, younger trees. Stomatal conductance to water vapour (g(s)), photosynthesis (A) and leaf-specific hydraulic conductance (K L) are often, but not always, lower in taller trees. Additionally, leaf mass per area is often greater in taller trees, and leaf area:sapwood area ratio changes with tree height. We conclude that hydraulic limitation of gas exchange with increasing tree size is common, but not universal. Where hydraulic limitations to A do occur, no evidence supports the original expectation that hydraulic limitation of carbon assimilation is sufficient to explain observed declines in wood production. Any limit to height or height growth does not appear to be related to the so-called age-related decline in wood production of forests after canopy closure. Future work on this problem should explicitly link leaf or canopy gas exchange with tree and stand growth, and consider a more fundamental assumption: whether tree biomass growth is limited by carbon availability.     

Water relations of baobab trees (Adansonia spp. L.) during the rainy season: does stem water buffer daily water deficits?

Baobab trees are often cited in the literature as water-storing trees, yet few studies have examined this assumption. We assessed the role of stored water in buffering daily water deficits in two species of baobabs (Adansonia rubrostipa Jum. and H. Perrier and Adansonia za Baill.) in a tropical dry forest in Madagascar. We found no lag in the daily onset of sap flow between the base and the crown of the tree. Some night-time sap flow occurred, but this was more consistent with a pattern of seasonal stem water replenishment than with diurnal usage. Intrinsic capacitance of both leaf and stem tissue (0.07-0.08 and 1.1-1.43 MPa(-1), respectively) was high, yet the amount of water that could be withdrawn before turgor loss was small because midday leaf and stem water potentials (WPs) were near the turgor-loss points. Stomatal conductance was high in the daytime but then declined rapidly, suggesting an embolism-avoidance strategy. Although the xylem of distal branches was relatively vulnerable to cavitation (P50: 1.1-1.7 MPa), tight stomatal control and minimum WPs near--1.0 MPa maintained native embolism levels at 30-65%. Stem morphology and anatomy restrict water movement between storage tissues and the conductive pathway, making stored-water usage more appropriate to longer-term water deficits than as a buffer against daily water deficits.     

民勤绿洲荒漠过渡带植物白刺和梭梭光合特性

研究了民勤绿洲荒漠过渡带两种优势植物白刺(Nitrariatangutorum)和梭梭(Haloxylonammodendron)气体交换特征参数和叶绿素荧光参数的日变化,结果表明:梭梭同化枝日均净光合速率(Pn)、蒸腾速率(E)、水分利用效率(WUE)和早晨PSII最大光化学效率(Fv/Fm)明显低于白刺叶片;同时它们在中午都呈现明显的光合“午休”现象。通过气孔限制值(Ls)、胞间二氧化碳浓度(Ci)和叶绿素荧光参数(Fv/Fm)变化趋势分析表明:梭梭同化枝净光合速率的下降在9:00~12:00主要是由于气孔关闭引起的,而在12:00~15:00主要是非气孔因素光抑制的影响;而白刺叶片光合速率的下降主要是气孔关闭引起的。同时,梭梭在一天中其同化枝的温度(Tleaf)高于大气温度尤其在中午差值更大,而白刺叶片的温度却低于大气温度,因此说明梭梭同化枝在中午不仅遭受着干旱和强光的胁迫而且面临严酷的高温胁迫。总之,在绿洲荒漠过渡带生境中白刺比梭梭具有更好的适应性,这可能是民勤绿洲荒漠过渡带人工梭梭林衰退的重要原因之一。     

Photosynthesis,transpiration, and water use efficiency of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leymus dasystachys</Emphasis> on the Hunshandake desert

Net photosynthetic rate (P _N), transpiration rate (E), and stomatal conductance (g _s) declined from upper leaves to the lower ones during dry and rainy seasons, indicating that long-term carbon budget should take into account P _N variations for different leaf types. Relatively greater P _N in the dry season suggested that this species is more able to maintain higher P _N under drought, but the relatively higher E in the dry season might reduce water use efficiency (P _N/E) for the species. Significant correlations between P _N and g _s indicated that g _s may be the critical factor for P _N variability in the desert region.     

Effect of doubled CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> on morphology: Inhibition of stomata development in growing birch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula platyphylla</Emphasis> Suk.) leaves

Two-year old birch (Betula platyphylla Suk.) seedlings were grown in climatic chambers for 7 weeks under various conditions: (1) ambient CO₂ concentration (350 ppm) and an ordinary nitrogen content in soil (2 mM NH₄NO₃); (2) ambient CO₂ concentration and a high nitrogen rate (16 mM NH₄NO₃); (3) doubled CO₂ concentration (700 ppm) and ordinary nitrogen content, and (4) doubled CO₂ concentration and a high nitrogen rate. Doubled CO₂ concentration in combination with the high nitrogen rate activated mostly seedling growth, e.g., stem thickening and leaf initiation. In this treatment, the maximum rate of apparent photosynthesis (A _max) was twice as high as in control seedlings. At doubled CO₂ concentration and ordinary nitrogen content, we observed the phenomenon of stomata absence from the upper leaf surface and doubling their number on the lower surface, whereas, at doubled CO₂ concentration and a high nitrogen rate, stomata partition was essentially similar as in control leaves. The conclusion is that, when the balance between CO₂ concentration and nitrogen rate is shifted, doubled CO₂ concentration exerts a morphotropic effect on differentiation of young epidermal tissue.Translated from Fiziologiya Rastenii, Vol. 52, No. 2, 2005, pp. 198–202.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Mao, Y.-J. Wang, X.-W. Wang, Voronin.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

西南喀斯特地区四种植物水分生理的初步研究

通过对喀斯特地区的4种植物红背山麻杆、圆叶乌桕、青檀和水冬瓜的水分特征进行测定和比较,结果表明:植物的组织含水量、临界饱和亏缺和需水程度均存在显著差异,其抗旱能力以青檀最强;水分利用效率饱和点以落叶灌木红背山麻杆最高,在600μmol.m-2·s-1左右,光辐射与气孔导度呈对数关系;而三个落叶乔木树种的WUE的光饱和点均在400μmol·m-2·s-1左右,光辐射与蒸腾速率、气孔导度均呈线性极显著相关关系;观测结果没有显示蒸腾饱和现象。     

蛋白质可逆磷酸化调节植物细胞离子跨膜运动研究进展

蛋白激酶和蛋白磷酸酶催化的可逆磷酸化是植物细胞中多种信号转导途径中重要的组成因子.本文对蛋白质可逆磷酸化通过调节多种离子跨膜运动而参与植物细胞激发子信号途径、毒性物质诱导的钙离子内流、盐胁迫适应、气孔运动以及蛋白质可逆磷酸化参与胞外与胞内之间Ca2 状况信息传递,调节花粉管顶端Ca2 离子通道活性进行综述,以揭示蛋白质可逆磷酸化在植物细胞离子跨膜运动中的调控作用,为蛋白质可逆磷酸化调节植物生长发育、响应逆境胁迫等机理的研究提供参考.     

合意非洲铁羽片表皮及气孔器的发育研究

用光学显微镜和扫描电镜对合意非洲铁羽片表皮及气孔器的发育过程进行观察研究。结果显示,(1)在羽片发育过程中表皮细胞变化不明显,主要是细胞伸长和壁增厚的过程;表皮的角质层连续出现。(2)气孔器发育可大致分3个阶段:保卫细胞母细胞阶段、幼保卫细胞阶段和成熟保卫细胞阶段;气孔器发育方式为单唇型或周源型;成熟气孔器属单环型。(3)在羽片发育过程中,气孔密度起初很低,后急剧升高并达到峰值,之后逐渐下降并趋于稳定。(4)有早熟气孔器。(5)羽片表皮发育成熟的方式是由基部向顶部逐步推进。