Leaf Structural Carbohydrate Decreased for Pinus thunbergii along Coast–Inland Gradients

Abstract

Although photosynthesis (carbohydrate production) decreases under wind load, it is unclear how carbohydrate categories allocation changes. We determined the leaf morphology (specific leaf area (SLA), needle thickness), anatomy (cuticle thickness, epidermal thickness), photosynthesis (effective quantum yield of Photosystem II (Y(II)), carbohydrate (structure carbohydrate (SC) and non-structure carbohydrate (NSC)), and environmental variables in Pinus thunbergii plantations from coast to inland, with wind speed decreasing. As expected, wind, accounting for 19–69% of the total variation, was the most dominant environmental variable determining the leaf traits. Y(II) and NSC increased, while SC and SC/NSC decreased along the coast-inland gradients (p < 0.01). These results confirmed that, although carbohydrate production decreased, SC allocation increased with increasing wind load. SLA and needle thickness decreased, while cuticle thickness and epidermal thickness increased from coast to inland. Needle thickness and cuticle thickness showed strong correlations to SC/NSC. These variations indicated that carbohydrate categories allocation related to variations of needle morphology and anatomy for P. thunbergii under wind, because of more SC allocation in leaf to support tensile strength and hardness of the cell wall under wind. Therefore, allocation between SC and NSC may be helpful for understanding the long-term adaptation of plants to wind load.

Morphological and Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Three Species of Five-Needle Pines: Insights Into Phenotypic Evolution and Phylogeny

“…Carbohydrate biosynthesis was a major GO term in PP vs. PS, presumably due to the involvement of starch and sugar in leaf/needle development. Similar results were also found in other plants such as Vitis vinifera ( Gao et al, 2021 ), Hevea brasiliensis ( Gersony et al, 2020 ), and Pinus thunbergia ( Zhang et al, 2020 ). Additionally, regulation of morphogenesis, organization of external encapsulating structures and cell wall biosynthesis GO terms were identified, which may be related to the difference in stem morphology (apical dominance) between P. sibirica and P. pumila .…”

Resistant and Susceptible Pinus thunbergii ParL. Show Highly Divergent Patterns of Differentially Expressed Genes during the Process of Infection by Bursaphelenchus xylophilus

“…Pinus thunbergii Parl. was the most prestigious of the coniferous bonsai trees, which was a type of positive evergreen tree native to Japan and the southern coast of Korea [ 1 , 2 ] It was widely used in coastal urban greening and coastal windbreaks due to its resistance to barrenness and strong adaptability, especially to sea fog and sea winds [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. It has been cultivated in Qingdao City, China, since 1900 and has been widely planted in coastal cities in China for almost 120 years [ 7 , 8 ].…”

Radiation and Drought Impact Residual Leaf Conductance in Two Oak Species With Implications for Water Use Models

“…Some studies report that variations in the degree of sclerophylly (as indicated by leaf mass area) would increase g res because leaves that are more scleromorphic will show thicker cuticles, but other work has demonstrated that changes in wax composition may compensate for such effect (Bueno et al, 2020). Another alternative, explored to a lesser degree, is that further reductions in g res may be inhibited by changing carbohydrate allocation priorities (Zhang et al, 2020). In other words, as non-structural carbohydrate reserve pools deplete, cuticle production to prevent cuticular water losses may be limited by NSC availability.…”