Isotope labeling reveals contribution of newly fixed carbon to carbon storage and monoterpenes production under water deficit and carbon limitation
RIS ID
134190
Abstract
Secondary metabolites play important roles in plant responses to environmental stress but may also represent a large carbon (C) cost, resulting in trade-offs with other C sinks like growth and storage. However, it remains uncertain how such trade-offs may vary with changes in resource availability including water and CO 2 availability. We conducted a glasshouse experiment with peppermint (Mentha x piperita L.) exposed to four treatments: control (sufficient irrigation and near-ambient CO 2 ), water deficit (50% irrigation and near-ambient CO 2 ), CO 2 limitation (sufficient irrigation and below-ambient CO 2 ) and the combination of water and CO 2 deficits. Continuous 13 CO 2 labelling was used to trace allocation of newly-assimilated C. Concentrations of soluble sugars significantly increased under water deficit but decreased along with aboveground biomass under low CO 2 , while monoterpene concentrations remained relatively constant, independent of treatments. Under water deficit, there were no differences in allocation of new vs old C to monoterpenes production, structural growth and storage; plants grown under low CO 2 even invested proportionally more newly-assimilated C for monoterpenes production, suggesting a preferential allocation to defense at the expense of growth. We concluded that C allocation to monoterpenes is actively regulated in coordination with growth and storage under water and C stresses, consistent with an optimal defense strategy to protect young tissues.
Publication Details
Huang, J., Forkelova, L., Unsicker, S. B., Forkel, M., Griffith, D. W.T., Trumbore, S. & Hartmann, H. (2019). Isotope labeling reveals contribution of newly fixed carbon to carbon storage and monoterpenes production under water deficit and carbon limitation. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 162 333-344.