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Genetic variability and phenotypic plasticity of apple morphological responses to soil water restriction in relation with leaf functions and stem xylem conductivity

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In drought-stressed apple, leaf area decrease and stem growth cessation increase are key determinants of drought avoidance. Both the genotype and its possible phenotypic plasticity contribute to the variability of responses.

Abstract

Under soil water restriction, plant growth is impaired by the indirect negative impact on plant carbon balance of stomata closure and hydraulic failure. The relative contributions of these two phenomena have been scarcely explored in trees under different drought-stress intensities, and even less work is published which accounts for genetic variability and phenotypic plasticity. Working on 21 apple genotypes from the same progeny, we assessed the effects of two consecutive periods of soil drought, moderate and severe, on growth and functional patterns of leaf and stem. Leaf area decreased while temporary stem growth cessation increased under drought with strong variations depending on the genotype. These results suggested that both reduction of transpiring leaf area and leaf organogenesis are key determinants for drought avoidance in the apple. Results also confirmed the pivotal role of stomatal conductance (g s) in maintaining percent loss of conductivity of the stem xylem (PLC) under values for runaway embolism (ca. 14 % under severe drought). The sorting of genotypes according to their morphological response to drought showed that genotypes with high reduction of growth were characterized by similar g s but lower PLC than genotypes with medium and low reduction of growth. This suggests that for a given level of stomatal closure the drought-related reduction of leaf area could also limit the progression of cavitation in stem xylem. As a whole, the variability of morphological responses of apple genotypes to contrasted drought conditions indicated that both genetic variability and phenotypic plasticity are involved in the range of iso-anisohydry documented for this species.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Gilbert Garcia for helping in the management of the experiment, Mélodie Gendre and Dhikra Feirouz Sahli for the collection and a first analysis of the data, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on a previous version of the manuscript.

Funding

This work has been partly funded by both the ARIMNET research program APMed (Apple and Peach in Mediterranean orchards—Integrating tree water status and irrigation management for coping with water scarcity and aphid control), and the EU FruitBreedomics Project No. 265582 (Integrated Approach for increasing breeding efficiency in fruit tree crop). The views expressed in this work are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessary reflect the views of the European Commission.

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  1. Pierre-Éric Lauri

    Present address: INRA, UMR System, Campus Montpellier SupAgro, 2 place Pierre Viala, Bât. 27, 34060, Montpellier, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, UMR AGAP, 34398 Montpellier, Cedex 05, France

    Pierre-Éric Lauri, Gerardo Lopez, Sébastien Martinez & Evelyne Costes

  2. INRA, UMR 547 PIAF, 63100, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Têtè Sévérien Barigah

  3. Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, University of Bologna, V.le G, Fanin 46, 40127, Bologna, Italy

    Gerardo Lopez, Marco Zibordi, Luigi Manfrini & Luca Corelli-Grappadelli

  4. Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria (CREA), Research Unit for Agriculture in Dry Environments [CREA-SCA], Bari, Italy

    Pasquale Losciale

  5. Montpellier SupAgro, UMR AGAP, 34060, Montpellier, Cedex 02, France

    Jean-Luc Regnard

  6. Clermont Université, Université Blaise-Pascal, UMR 547 PIAF, BP 10448, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Têtè Sévérien Barigah

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  1. Pierre-Éric Lauri
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Communicated by A. Nardini.

Long Distance Transport: Phloem and Xylem.

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Lauri, PÉ., Barigah, T.S., Lopez, G. et al. Genetic variability and phenotypic plasticity of apple morphological responses to soil water restriction in relation with leaf functions and stem xylem conductivity. Trees 30, 1893–1908 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-016-1408-3

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