Journal
NEW PHYTOLOGIST
Volume 229, Issue 6, Pages 3172-3183Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/nph.17134
Keywords
carbon starvation; drought; ectomycorrhizas; fungal networks; nonstructural carbohydrate; osmotic potential; Pinus ponderosa; turgor
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation [BCS 1461576]
- NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Track-1 [EPS-1101342]
- NSF EPSCoR RII Track 1 award [IIA-1443108]
- MPG Ranch
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study shows that the depletion of stored NSCs influences the regulation of plant water balance independently of plant water deficit. Even without drought, NSC depletion impairs osmoregulation and turgor maintenance. Importantly, EM networks propagate NSC depletion and its negative effects on water retention from carbon-stressed to non-stressed hosts.
Under prolonged drought and reduced photosynthesis, plants consume stored nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs). Stored NSC depletion may impair the regulation of plant water balance, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood, and whether such mechanisms are independent of plant water deficit is not known. If so, carbon costs of fungal symbionts could indirectly influence plant drought tolerance through stored NSC depletion. We connected well-watered Pinus ponderosa seedling pairs via ectomycorrhizal (EM) networks where one seedling was shaded (D) and the other kept illuminated (LD) and compared responses to seedling pairs in full light (L). We measured plant NSCs, osmotic and water potential, and transfer of (CO2)-C-13 through EM to explore mechanisms linking stored NSCs to plant water balance regulation and identify potential tradeoffs between plant water retention and EM fungi under carbon-limiting conditions. NSCs decreased from L to LD to D seedlings. Even without drought, NSC depletion impaired osmoregulation and turgor maintenance, both of which are critical for drought tolerance. Importantly, EM networks propagated NSC depletion and its negative effects on water retention from carbon stressed to nonstressed hosts. We demonstrate that NSC storage depletion influences turgor maintenance independently of plant water deficit and reveal carbon allocation tradeoffs between supporting fungal symbionts and retaining water.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available