Physiological response to drought stress in Camptotheca acuminata seedlings from two provenances

Abstract

Drought stress is a key environmental factor limiting the growth and productivity of plants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological responses of Camptotheca acuminata (C. acuminata) to different drought stresses and compare the drought tolerance between the provenances Kunming (KM) and Nanchang (NC), which are naturally distributed in different rainfall zones with annual rainfalls of 1000–1100 mm and 1600–1700 mm, respectively. We determined relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content [Chl(a+b)], net photosynthesis (Pn), gas exchange parameters, relative leakage conductivity (REC), malondialdehyde (MDA) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities of C. acuminata seedlings under both moderate (50% of maximum field capacity) and severe drought stress (30% of maximum field capacity). As the degree of water stress increased, RWC, Chl(a+b) content, Pn, stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (Tr) and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) values decreased, but water use efficiency (WUE), REC, MDA content and SOD and POD activities increased in provenances KM and NC. Under moderate and severe drought stress, provenance KM had higher RWC, Chl(a+b), Pn, WUE, SOD, and POD and lower Gs, Tr, Ci, and REC in leaves than provenance NC. The results indicated that provenance KM may maintain stronger drought tolerance via improvements in water-retention capacity, antioxidant enzyme activity, and membrane integrity.

Effect of drought acclimation on oxidative stress and transcript expression in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

“…Chlorophyll, a photosynthetic pigment, is involved in light absorption and plays an important role in plant photosynthesis. As drought stress can accelerate chlorophyll decomposition, chlorophyll content has been reported as the most frequently used metrics for ascertaining the severity of drought stress (Efeoğlu et al 2009;Ying et al 2015). As expected, we observed that the chlorophyll content in DA1 plants significantly decreased under S1 (Figure 2E).…”

Comparative metabolomics analysis reveals different metabolic responses to drought in tolerant and susceptible poplar species

“…D). WUE is an important physiological indicator for evaluatiing the adaption to water deficit, and plants with high WUE usually have a characteristic of strong drought tolerance (Steven , Schittenhelm and Schroetter , Ying et al ). The WUE increased in response to drought stress in both poplar species, but P. simonii showed higher WUE than P. deltoides cv.…”

Leaf Morphological and Biochemical Responses of Three Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Cultivars to Drought Stress and Aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzer) Infestation

“…Plants respond and adapt to drought stress through the induction of various morphological and physiological responses [64,65]. Many physiological factors may be involved in drought stress injury [66]. Drought stress can damage the photosynthetic apparatus and decrease leaf chlorophyll content [14], as well as transpiration rate, water content, and leaf angle [15].…”