In the pursuit of knowledge on the biological behavior of Brazilian Atlantic Forest tree species, this study evaluated the susceptibility of the light-demanding species, Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi., Pseudobombax grandiflorum (Cav.) A. Robyns and Joannesia princeps Vell., and of the shade-tolerant species, Hymenaea courbaril L. var. stilbocarpa and Lecythis pisonis Camb, to photoinhibition and acclimation capacity. These species were first cultivated under two irradiance conditions, I20 (20% direct sunlight radiation) and I100 (all-sky or direct sunlight) and then transferred from I20 to I100. The effects of the sudden increase in light radiation intensity on photosynthetic activity were then evaluated through chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence imaging, HPLC xanthophylls analysis, and cell membrane lipid peroxidation measurements. Light-demanding species were found to present a higher photochemical efficiency and higher acclimation capacity under high light irradiance than shade-tolerant species. The higher photoinhibition tolerance observed in light-demanding species was associated to their higher capacity for photochemical dissipation and dissipation of excess excitation energy via the xanthophyll cycle, leading to a lower ROS generation. The obtained results suggested that a knowledge of acclimation capacity, by means of Chl fluorescence imaging yields, is a useful indicator of species successional grouping., L. Dos Anjos, M. A. Oliva, and K. N. Kuki., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Photosynthetic organs are often characterized by anthocyanins being accumulated either in the epidermal or in the mesophyll cells making these tissues to turn reddish-brown in colour. It has been hypothesized that these pigments protect underlying chloroplasts from light-stress because they absorb photons of the photosynthetically active waveband. However, the photoprotective role of anthocyanins has not been undoubtedly shown on a broad range of species. In this study, green and anthocyanic areas of leaves of Pelargonium × hortorum, the latter possessing variable levels of anthocyanins, were compared using pigment analysis and pulse amplitude modulated in vivo chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence. Quenching analysis of the induction and dark relaxation curves of slow Chl fluorescence kinetics showed that at photoinhibitory conditions [by applying above-saturation light intensity of 1,600 μmol(quantum) m-2 s-1 white light at low (4°C) temperature], anthocyanic areas were at least equally sensitive to photoinhibition as green leaf areas. In fact, the level of photoinhibition tended to be proportional to the level of anthocyanin accumulation suggesting that this characteristic was indicative of the photoinhibitory risk. The results of the present study clearly show that anthocyanins in leaf areas of Pelargonium do not afford a photoprotective advantage., G. Liakopoulos, I. Spanorigas., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Both molecular and palaeoecological methods enable us to study past changes in plant distribution. The results of recent phylogeographical studies have demonstrated that Central Europe was not only at a crossroads of postglacial migration routes, but also an area where many species might have survived during glacial periods. and Tomáš Fér, Karol Marhold.
Leaf gas exchange of terrestrial and epiphytic orchids from the Atlantic Rainforest in northeast Brazil was investigated under artificial growth conditions. The terrestrial orchids showed higher values of all photosynthetic parameters in comparison to epiphytic ones. There was a close relationship between PN and gs for both terrestrial and epiphytic orchids. Taken together, our results demonstrated that the photosynthetic parameters were related to the specific growth habits of the orchids under study., M. V. Pires ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of this study was to characterize the key physiological aspects of three sugarcane cultivars (RB92579, RB867515 and RB872552) under biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). Plants were generated in tubes containing aseptic substrates and these plants were transferred to pots containing washed sand, but watered with a mineral fertilizer, and inoculated with a mixture of five diazotrophic bacteria three times at seven-day intervals. Under BNF, all of the cultivars contained half of their total leaf nitrogen content and 50% less shoot dry mass. The leaves of plants under BNF showed approximately 65% less of the total protein content (TP). The
gas-exchange control plants had twice the CO2 assimilation rates than the BNF plants. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was increased in all cultivars under BNF when compared with the control; thus, the content of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was also increased in these plants. The results of this study indicate that after acclimatization, the inoculation of young plants from tissue culture with diazotrophic bacteria could supply approximately 50% of their nitrogen requirement., C. D. Medeiros ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The gas-exchange characteristics, leaf water potential and chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) seedlings subjected to water stress and recovery were investigated in a greenhouse experiment. At 24 days after imposition of stress, leaf water potential in water-stressed seedlings was doubled compared to that of control and there was a drastic decline in gas-exchange parameters viz. photosynthesis, transpiration, and stomatal conductance. Water stress did not irreversibly affect gas-exchange parameters and quantum efficiency of photosystem II, as seedlings exhibited total recovery of photosynthetic apparatus by 12th day of rehydration. These findings indicate that oil palm exhibits physiological plasticity to water stress during the seedling stage. and K. Suresh ... [et al.].
Apart from a brief overview of GIS analyses used in botany and an explanation of the differences between two basic data models (vector or grid), the current paper also offers three case studies which used GIS to plan sampling design, explain causes of species composition and model phenological map. and Dana Michalcová, Ondřej Hájek.
a1_To determine how the use of a given rootstock can influence the functioning of the photosynthetic apparatus of the scion under salt stress, the growth, gas exchange, photosystem II (PSII) efficiency, xanthophyll cycle, and chloroplast ultrastructure of nongrafted,
self-grafted, and pumpkin-grafted (hereafter referred to as rootstock-grafted) cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plants were investigated at day 15 after being treated with 90 mM NaCl. The reductions in plant growth of the rootstock-grafted plants were lower than those of the nongrafted and self-grafted plants under 90 mM NaCl. The net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, maximal and effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry, photochemical quenching coefficient, and effective quantum-use efficiency of PSII in the light-adapted state of the nongrafted and self-grafted plants were significantly decreased under 90 mM NaCl. However, these reductions were alleviated when the cucumber plants were grafted onto the pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) rootstock. The intercellular CO2 concentrations were significantly increased in the nongrafted and self-grafted plants under 90 mM NaCl, whereas it was decreased in the rootstock-grafted plants. Nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) and the deepoxidation state of the xanthophyll cycle were significantly increased under 90 mM NaCl, particularly in the rootstockgrafted plants, suggesting the rootstock-grafted plants had higher potential to dissipate excess excitation energy and reduce the probability of photodamage to PSII. Under 90 mM NaCl, the number of grana was reduced, the thylakoids were swollen, and starch granules accumulated in all plants. However, the damage of chloroplast ultrastructure was alleviated in the rootstock-grafted plants., a2_Taken together, the use of C. moschata rootstock alleviated salt stress in cucumber plants by delaying photoinhibition, probably due to a lower incidence of both stomatal and nonstomatal factors limiting photosynthesis., Z. X. Liu ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) seeds were surface-sterilized and soaked for 5, 10, or 15 h in 1, 10, or 100 μM aqueous solution of kinetin (KIN). The potted plants were then analyzed at 30, 50, and 70 days after emergence (DAE) for dry mass (DM), leaf area (LA), chlorophyll (Chl) content, stomatal conductance (g s), carbonic anhydrase (CA), and nitrate reductase (NR) activity, total protein content, and net photosynthetic rate (PN). Capsule number and seed yield were determined at harvest (90 DAE). Treatment with the growth regulator was found to appreciably enhance all the determinants, with most prominent results being obtained following 10-h soaking with 10 μM KIN, in which case the values for DM, LA,
PN, CA and NR activity, and seed yield were elevated by 55, 63, 43, 38, 29, and 23% respectively over the control at the 50-day stage. and S. H. Shah.
To determine the effects of rootstock choice on the scion response to drought stress, we compared the vegetative growth, biomass accumulation, gas exchange, and water-use efficiency (WUE) of ‘Gale Gala’ apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) trees grafted onto nine wild Chinese Malus rootstocks. Compared with the well-watered control, drought treatment limited growth, as manifested by smaller increments in plant height (PH), trunk diameter (TD), total fresh biomass (TB), total dry biomass (TDB), total leaf area (LA), and relative growth rate (RGR). The extent of this effect differed among rootstocks. Stress conditions led to increases in the root/shoot ratio (RSR), leaf thickness (LT), water-holding capacity (WHC), carbon isotope composition (δ13C), and WUE. Decreases were noted in stomatal density (SD), leaf relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content (Chl), net photosynthetic rate (PN), transpiration rate (E), and stomatal conductance (gs), again varying by rootstock. Those that are generally considered more drought-tolerant, e.g., M. sieversii, M. prunifolia, and M. toringoides, had smaller declines in PH, TD, TB, TDB, LA, RGR, SD, RWC, Chl, PN, E, and gs and proportionally greater increases in RSR, LT, WHC, δ13C, and WUE compared with the droughtsensitive M. hupehensis and
M. sieboldii. These results suggest that moisture stress has a significant dwarfing effect in the latter two species. Based on WUE calculations, trees on drought-tolerant rootstocks showed higher tolerance when stressed, whereas those on drought-sensitive rootstocks were less tolerant, as indicated by their lower WUE values., B. H. Liu ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii