Pathways of CO2 Fixation in the Cam Plant Kalanchoe daigremontiana. III. Correlation With δ13C Value During Growth and Water Stress

1976 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 787 ◽  
Author(s):  
CB Osmond ◽  
MM Bender ◽  
RH Burris

Seedlings of K. daigremontiana were grown in the same controlled-environment room under nine different day temperature and light regimes. In each treatment, irrigated plants maintained dawn water potentials of approximately -5 bar whereas droughted plants ranged to -22 bar. Irrigated plants showed a characteristic stomatal opening on illumination, closure during deacidification and partial stomatal opening following deacidification. Stomata of droughted plants remained closed throughout the light period. Irrigated and droughted plants showed comparable dark acid synthesis. Low light levels and low day temperature resulted in lower dark acid synthesis and more protracted deacidification in the light. The δ13C value (total carbon) of old as well as newly formed leaves of irrigated plants tended to become less negative throughout the experiment except in low-light, low-day-temperature treatments. This trend was accentuated in the δ13C value (total carbon) of whole shoots of droughted plants. These data are consistent with an increase, with age, in the proportion of CO2 assimilated in the dark during growth of irrigated plants, and with the greater dependence on dark CO2 assimilation during the slower growth of droughted plants. Differences in the δ13C value of soluble and insoluble carbon from irrigated and droughted plants assayed at dawn appear to be consistent with the established starch to acid relationships in crassulacean plants.

1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
RW Pearcy

The light environment in forest understories is highly dynamic because the weak shade light is period- ically punctuated by lightflecks lasting from a second or less to tens of minutes. Although present for only a small fraction of the day, these lightflecks can contribute more than two-thirds of the photosynthetically active radiation. Several factots are of importance in determining the capacity of a leaf to utilise lightflecks. Following long low-light periods the induction state of the photosynthetic apparatus is limiting. During induction, 20-60 min may be required before maximum assimilation rates are reached due first to a light activation requirement. of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylasel oxygenase and later to the light-induced stomatal opening. Continuous light is not required and induction occurring during a series of lightflecks results in higher carbon gain for later as compared to earlier lightflecks. Post-illumination CO2 fixation resulting from utilisation of metabolite pools built up during the lightfleck can significantly enhance carbon gain during short (5-20 s) lightflecks. The carbon gain of a leaf in response to a lightfleck is a consequence of the limitations imposed by induction state plus the enhancements due to post-illumination CO2 fixation. In the field, this will depend on the frequency and duration of the lightflecks and the duration of the intervening low-light periods.


1983 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 431 ◽  
Author(s):  
DJ Griffiths ◽  
L Thinh

In the symbiotic association between the prokaryotic green alga Prochloron and three didemnid host species (Diplosoma similis, Lissoclinum bistratum, Trididemnum cyclops), between 6 and 51 % of the total carbon fixed during exposure for 1 h to H14CO3- in the light (150 �E m-2 s-1) becomes associated with the host tissue. Dark fixation of 14CO2 in these ascidian species and in Lissoclinum punctatum never exceeds 6% of photosynthetic fixation at saturating light intensity. The corresponding values for dark fixation of 14CO2 in isolated Prochloron cells fall within the same range. There is very little excretion of photosynthate from whole colonies of the above ascidian species nor from Didemnum molle, Lissoclinum voeltzkowi and Trididemnum miniatum (usually less than 1 % of total photosynthate at saturation light intensity), suggesting an efficient transfer mechanism from Prochloron to host. Evidence from pulse-chase experiments suggests that transfer probably involves the early products of photosynthesis. The extent of transfer of photosynthate between Prochloron and T. cyclops varies with the rate of photosynthetic 14CO2 fixation into the whole colony but there is some transfer even at low light intensities, which strongly limit photosynthesis.


1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 1424-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Mailly ◽  
J. P. Kimmins

Silvicultural alternatives that differ in the degree of overstory removal may create shady environments that will be problematic for the regeneration of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). Gradients of light in the field were used to compare mortality, growth, and leaf morphological acclimation of two conifer species of contrasting shade tolerances: Douglas-fir and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.). Results after two growing seasons indicated that Douglas-fir mortality occurred mainly at relative light intensity (RLI) below 20%, while western hemlock mortality was evenly distributed along the light gradient. Height, diameter, and biomass of the planted seedlings increased with increasing light for both species but at different rates, and maximum biomass accumulation always occurred in the open. Douglas-fir allocated more resources to stem biomass than western hemlock, which accumulated more foliage biomass. Increases in specific leaf area for Douglas-fir seedlings occurred at RLI ≤ 0.4 and red/far red (R/FR) ratio ≤ 0.6, which appear to be the minimal optimum light levels for growth. Conversely, western hemlock seedlings adjusted their leaf morphology in a more regular pattern, and changes were less pronounced at low light levels. These results, along with early mortality results for Douglas-fir, suggest that the most successful way to artificially regenerate this species may be by allowing at least 20% of RLI for ensuring survival and at least 40% RLI for optimum growth. Key words: light, light quality, leaf morphology, acclimation.


1970 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 2213-2217 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Singh ◽  
D. K. Salunkhe

A solution containing 0.5 p.p.m. of atrazine, simazine, igran, or GS-14254 with 0.2% triton-B 1956 was applied to the foliage of 11-day-old seedlings of bush beans, Phaseolus vulgaris L. cultivar Tender-green, growing on vermiculite in a controlled environment. The activities of nitrate reductase, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, α-amylase, starch phosphorylase, and adenosine triphosphatase were determined 5,10, and 20 days after treatment. In general, the activity of each of the five enzymes was stimulated by the treatment. The results suggest that protein increase following the application of.s-triazines to bean plants may stem in part from an enhanced rate of amino acid formation resulting from the induced increment in nitrate reductase and transaminase activity. The application of these chemicals also creates a metabolic condition favorable for greater use of carbohydrates needed for nitrate reduction and protein synthesis, and as a source of organic acid synthesis.


1974 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-133
Author(s):  
T. MATSUMOTO ◽  
C. A. HORNBY

The hypothesis that blotchy ripening (BR) of greenhouse tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) was associated with a cumulative effect of alternating periods of bright sunshine and cloudy weather was tested in controlled environment chambers. Temperatures were programed to give diurnal changes between 11.7 C/26.7 C night/day representing sunny days, and 11.7 C/21.2 C night/day for cloudy days. The two levels of light were (1) 18,299 lx for sunny days, and (2) 16,656 lx for cloudy days. These two factors were combined in four regimes to represent (1) sunny-day temperature and light; (2) sunny-day temperature and alternate weeks of sunny-day and cloudy-day light; (3) alternate weeks of sunny-day and cloudy-day temperature and sunny-day light; and (4) alternate weeks of sunny-day temperature and light, and cloudy-day temperature and light. Four series of plants showed a common trend. Consistent sunny-day temperature and alternating weeks of sunny or cloudy-day light produced the highest incidence of BR. Alternating weeks of temperature levels with consistent sunny-day light produced less BR but not significantly so. When sunny-day temperature and light were alternated weekly with cloudy day conditions, there was a reduced percentage of BR and less severe symptoms. This regime suggests a compensatory effect when temperature is varied directly with changes in light intensity. The regime for consistent sunny-day temperature and light gave the lowest BR incidence with mild symptoms.


1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 2144-2154 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Putt ◽  
G. P. Harris ◽  
R. L. Cuhel

Measurement of 1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) enhanced fluorescence (FDCMU) suggested that photoinhibition of photosynthesis was frequently an artifact of in situ bottle incubations in Lake Ontario phytoplankton. In a seasonal study, FDCMU of all populations was depressed by bright light in an incubator. However, when the euphotic zone did not exceed the depth of the mixed layer, vertical transport of phytoplankton into either low-light or dark regions apparently allowed reversal of photoinhibition of FDCMU. Advantages of FDCMU as a bioassay of vertical mixing include rapidity of response time, ease of measurement in the field, and insensitivity of this parameter to changes in phosphorus status of the population. Because of seasonal changes in the photoadaptive response of natural populations, the rate constants and threshold light levels required to cause the response must be determined at each use if the method is to be quantitative.


1986 ◽  
Vol 3 (12) ◽  
pp. 2179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles N. Wernick ◽  
G. Michael Morris

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