Primary and secondary aerenchyma oxygen transportation pathways of Syzygium kunstleri (King) Bahadur & R. C. Gaur adventitious roots in hypoxic conditions.

Some plant species develop aerenchyma to avoid anaerobic environments. In Syzygium kunstleri (King) Bahadur & R. C. Gaur, both primary and secondary aerenchyma were observed in adventitious roots under hypoxic conditions. We clarified the function of and relationship between primary and secondary aerenchyma. To understand the function of primary and secondary aerenchyma in adventitious roots, we measured changes in primary and secondary aerenchyma partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) after injecting nitrogen (N2) into the stem 0-3 cm above the water surface using Clark-type oxygen microelectrodes. Following N2 injection, a decrease in pO2 was observed in the primary aerenchyma, secondary aerenchyma, and rhizosphere. Oxygen concentration in the primary aerenchyma, secondary aerenchyma, and rhizosphere also decreased after the secondary aerenchyma was removed from near the root base. The primary and secondary aerenchyma are involved in oxygen transport, and in adventitious roots, they participate in the longitudinal movement of oxygen from the root base to root tip. As cortex collapse occurs from secondary growth, the secondary aerenchyma may support or replace the primary aerenchyma as the main oxygen transport system under hypoxic conditions.

Source of Oxygen Fed to Adventitious Roots of Syzygium kunstleri (King) Bahadur and R.C. Gaur Grown in Hypoxic Conditions.

Syzygium kunstleri, a woody plant species, adapts to hypoxic conditions by developing new adventitious roots. Here, we investigate its morphological adaptation to long-term water level changes and the sources and pathways of O2 supplied to its adventitious roots. Cuttings were cultivated in hydroponic and agar media, and then, the water level was increased by 6 cm following adventitious root emergence; afterward, O2 partial pressure changes were measured using a Clark-type O2 microelectrode. O2 concentrations in the adventitious roots decreased when N2 was injected, regardless of the presence of light, indicating that the O2 source was not photosynthetic when bark was removed. New adventitious roots developed near the surface when the water level increased, and O2 conditions above the raised water level influenced O2 concentrations in adventitious roots. O2 concentrations in adventitious roots that developed before the water level increased were lower than in the newly developed adventitious roots but increased when the O2 concentrations above the original water level increased. Our study highlights morphological changes, such as the development of adventitious roots, as environmental adaptation mechanisms. By revealing O2 sources in S. kunstleri under hypoxic environments, we offer insights into the challenges of long-term adaptation to changing environments in woody plants.

Potassium supply reduces cesium uptake in Konara oak not by an alteration of uptake mechanism, but by the uptake competition between the ions.

Radiocesium contamination of forests has been a severe problem after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011. Bed logs of Konara oak (Quercus serrata Murray), used for mushroom cultivation, were an economically important product from the forests prior to their contamination. One of the potential countermeasures to reduce radiocesium content in trees is potassium fertilization, but the evidence for the effect of K+ in reducing Cs+ uptake has not been obtained yet in the woody plant. Therefore, we investigated the ability of rhizospheric K+ to suppress uptake and translocation of Cs+ in Konara oak seedlings through hydroponic experiments in order to clarify the effect of K+. Elemental analysis showed that the seedlings cultivated for 4 weeks under low-K (K+ = 50 µM) contained higher amount of Cs comparing to the seedlings cultivated under high-K (K+ = 3 mM). Then, the uptake rate of Cs+ and K+ in the seedlings from the solution having 50 µM K+ and 0.1 µM Cs+ was calculated using radioactive 137Cs+ and 42K+ to evaluate the effect of growth condition on the ion uptake mechanism. The interference between Cs+ and K+ at the site of root uptake was also evaluated based on the Cs+ and K+ uptake rates at K+ concentrations of 50 µM, 200 µM, and 3 mM in the seedlings grown under the medium-K (K+ = 200 µM) condition. As a result, the Cs+ uptake rate at 50 µM K+ was not influenced by the growth condition, whereas Cs+ uptake decreased when the uptake solution itself was supplemented with 3 mM K+. In addition, the Cs/K ratio in the seedlings was found to rise to exceed the Cs/K ratio in the culture solution as the rhizospheric K+ concentration increased, which was in contrast with previous findings in herbaceous plants. Our experiments demonstrated the first direct evidence for woody plants that a high K+ concentration can suppress Cs accumulation in Konara oak and that it was derived from competition for uptake between K+ and Cs+ in the rhizosphere, not from the growth K+ condition.

Phototropic bending of non-elongating and radially growing woody stems results from asymmetrical xylem formation.

Active phototropic bending of non-elongating and radially growing portion of stems (woody stems) has not been previously documented, whereas negative gravitropic bending is well known. We found phototropic bending in woody stems and searched for the underlying mechanism. We inclined 1-year-old Quercus crispula Blume seedlings and unilaterally illuminated them from a horizontal direction perpendicular to ('normal' illumination) or parallel to ('parallel' illumination) the inclination azimuth. With normal illumination, active phototropic bending and xylem formation could be evaluated separately from the negative gravitropic response and vertical deflection resulting from the weight of the seedlings. One-year-old stems with normal illumination bent significantly, with asymmetrical xylem formation towards the illuminated upper surface and side of the stem, whereas those with parallel illumination showed non-significant lateral bending, with asymmetrical xylem formation only on the upper side. A mechanical model was built on the assumption that a bending moment resulted from the asymmetrical xylem formation during phototropic bending of the woody stems. The model fitted the relationship between the observed spatial distributions of the xylem and the observed lateral bending, and thus supported the hypothesis that phototropic bending of woody stems results from asymmetrical xylem formation, as such occurs during gravitropism.

Photosynthesis and photoassimilate transport during root hypoxia in Melaleuca cajuputi, a flood-tolerant species, and in Eucalyptus camaldulensis, a moderately flood-tolerant species.

We compared the photosynthetic and photoassimilate transport responses of Melaleuca cajuputi Powell seedlings to root hypoxia with those of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. Control and hypoxia treated roots were maintained in a nutrient solution through which air or nitrogen was bubbled. Under root hypoxic conditions, seedlings of M. cajuputi, a flood-tolerant species, maintained height growth, whereas seedlings of E. camaldulensis, a moderately flood-tolerant species, showed markedly decreased height growth compared with control seedlings. Root hypoxia caused decreases in whole-plant biomass, photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance in E. camaldulensis, but not in M. cajuputi. Photoassimilate transport to roots decreased significantly in E. camaldulensis seedlings 4 days after treatment and starch accumulated in mature leaves. Photoassimilate supply to hypoxic roots of E. camaldulensis seedlings was, thus, limited by reduced photoassimilate transport rather than by reduced photosynthesis. In contrast, M. cajuputi seedlings showed sustained photoassimilate transport to hypoxic roots and persistent photosynthesis, which together provided a substantial photoassimilate supply to the roots. Sucrose accumulated in hypoxic E. camaldulensis roots, but not in hypoxic M. cajuputi roots. A stable, low sucrose concentration in hypoxic roots would let M. cajuputi seedlings prolong photoassimilate transport to the roots. Photoassimilate partitioning among the water-soluble carbohydrates, starch and structural carbohydrates within the roots was unaffected by root hypoxia in E. camaldulensis, but in M. cajuputi, partitioning was shifted somewhat from structural carbohydrates to water-soluble carbohydrates. This suggests that M. cajuputi seedlings are able to increase photoassimilate utilization in metabolism and sustain energy production under root hypoxic conditions.

Stem phototropism of trees: a possible significant factor in determining stem inclination on forest slopes.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The main stems of trees on forest slopes incline down the slope to various extents that are characteristic of the species. The inclination has been explained as an active response to a horizontally asymmetrical light environment, but the contributing physiological mechanisms are unknown. The present study tested the hypothesis that stem phototropism, gravitropism, or a combination of the two determines the inclination of tree stems on forest slopes. METHODS: Cryptomeria japonica, Pinus densiflora, Quercus myrsinaefolia and Q. serrata were studied. Measurements were made of stem inclination of mature trees on forest slopes in uniform plantations of each species, and changes in stem inclination of potted seedlings in response to illumination treatments (unilateral or overhead) and inclination treatments (artificially inclined or erect). Indices of phototropic and gravitropic responsiveness were evaluated for each species, calculated from the change in stem inclination in response to artificial inclination with unilateral or overhead illumination. KEY RESULTS: Stem inclination on forest slopes varied significantly among species: Q. serrata inclined most in the down-slope direction, C. japonica inclined the least, and P. densiflora and Q. myrsinaefolia were intermediate. The change in stem inclination of seedlings in each treatment varied significantly among species. One-year-old stems of Q. serrata and 2-year-old stems of Q. myrsinaefolia bent toward the light source. Interspecific variation in the change in stem inclination in response to the unilateral illumination or that in the index of phototropic responsiveness was strongly correlated with the variation in stem inclination on forest slopes. CONCLUSIONS: The orientation of woody stems that have finished elongation can be actively controlled by phototropism. Interspecific variation in phototropic responsiveness of trees is a possible significant determinant of interspecific variation in stem inclination on forest slopes.