Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Variations in internal water distribution and leaf anatomical structure in maize under persistently reduced soil water content and growth recovery after re-watering

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Acta Physiologiae Plantarum Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Episodes of regional drought are increasing and are frequently associated with increased duration and intensity. However, relatively little is known about effects of long-lasting drought on leaf microscopic structure and physiological metabolism of plants. In this study, we investigated internal water re-distribution and leaf anatomical structure of maize (Zea mays L.) grown under persistently reduced soil water content. Meanwhile, the threshold of soil water content at which maize cannot recover growth vitality after re-watering was determined. Our results showed that during persistent reductions in the field water capacity from 75 to 25 %, plant growth declined, while the water content in maize decreased following the order from the lower to upper leaves and their leaf sheathes to the stem and roots. At 20 % of field water capacity, the volume of bulliform cells declined, accompanied by an inward shrinkage of cell walls. Under field water capacity below 20 %, the number of chloroplasts in bundle-sheath cells decreased, chloroplasts in mesophyll cells deformed from oval to round, concomitant of a near to zero net photosynthetic rate. It was demonstrated that the growth vitality of maize plants could be recovered by re-watering even if field water capacity reduced to 15 %, but not to 10 %.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen CD, Macalady AK, Chenchouni H, Bachelet D, McDowell N, Vennetier M et al (2010) A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals emerging climate change risks for forests. Forest Ecol Manag 259:660–684

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Maskri A, Hameed M, Ashraf M, Khan MM, Fatima S, Nawaz T, Batool R (2014) Structural features of some wheat (Triticum Spp.) Landraces/Cultivars under drought and salt stress. Arid Land Res Manag 28:355–370

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alvarez S, Marxh EL, Schroeder SG, Schachtman DP (2008) Metabolomic and proteomic changes in the xylem sap of maize under drought. Plant Cell Environ 31:325–340

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anderegg WRL, Berry JA, Smith DD, Sperry JS, Anderegg LDL, Field CB (2012) The roles of hydraulic and carbon stress in a widespread climate-induced forest die-off. Proc Natl Acad Sci 109:233–237

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anjum SA, Xie X, Wang L, Saleem MF, Man C, Lei W (2011) Morphological, physiological and biochemical responses of plants to drought stress. Afr J Agric Res 6:2026–2032

    Google Scholar 

  • Asch F, Dingkuhn M, Sow A, Audebert A (2005) Drought-induced changes in rooting patterns and assimilate partitioning between root and shoot in upland rice. Field Crop Res 93:223–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baluška F (2013) Long-distance systemic signaling and communication in plants. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Boyer JS (1982) Plant productivity and environment. Science 218:443–448

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chaumont F, Tyerman SD (2014) Aquaporins: highly regulated channels controlling plant water relations. Plant Physiol 164:1600–1618

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chaves MM, Maroco JP, Pereira JS (2003) Understanding plant responses to drought-from genes to the whole plant. Funct Plant Biol 30:239–264

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chaves MM, Flexas J, Pinheiro C (2009) Photosynthesis under drought and salt stress: regulation mechanisms from whole plant to cell. Ann Bot Lond 103:551–560

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen GX, Liu SH, Zhang CJ, Lu CG (2004) Effects of drought on photosynthetic characteristics of flag leaves of a newly-developed super-high-yield rice hybrid. Photosynthetica 42:573–578

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Claeys H, Inzé D (2013) The agony of choice: how plants balance growth and survival under water-limiting conditions. Plant Physiol 162:1768–1779

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke JM (1986) Effect of leaf rolling on leaf water loss in Triticum spp. Can J Plant Sci 66:885–891

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies WJ, Zhang J (1991) Root signals and the regulation of growth and development of plants in drying soil. Annu Rev Plant Boil 42:55–76

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davies WJ, Wilkinson S, Loveys BR (2002) Stomatal control by chemical signalling and the exploitation of this mechanism to increase water use efficiency in agriculture. New Phytol 153:449–460

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dekov I, Tsonev T, Yordanov I (2000) Effects of water stress and high-temperature stress on the structure and activity of photosynthetic apparatus of Zea mays and Helianthus annuus. Photosynthetica 38:361–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickman LT, McDowell NG, Sevanto S, Pangle RE, Pockman WT (2015) Carbohydrate dynamics and mortality in a piñon-juniper woodland under three future precipitation scenarios. Plant Cell Environ 38:729–739

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farooq M, Hussain M, Wahid A, Siddique KHM (2012) Drought stress in plants: an overview. Plant responses to drought stress. Springer, Berlin, pp 1–33

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Foyer CH, Valadier MH, Migge A, Becker TW (1998) Drought-induced effects on nitrate reductase activity and mRNA and on the coordination of nitrogen and carbon metabolism in maize leaves. Plant Physiol 117:283–292

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grigorova B, Vassileva V, Klimchuk D, Vaseva I, Demirevska K, Feller U (2012) Drought, high temperature, and their combination affect ultrastructure of chloroplasts and mitochondria in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) leaves. J Plant Interact 7:204–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann H, Ziegler W, Trumbore S (2013) Lethal drought leads to reduction in nonstructural carbohydrates in Norway spruce tree roots but not in the canopy. Funct Ecol 27:413–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hummel I, Pantin F, Sulpice R, Piques M, Rolland G, Dauzat M et al (2010) Arabidopsis plants acclimate to water deficit at low cost through changes of carbon usage: an integrated perspective using growth, metabolite, enzyme, and gene expression analysis. Plant Physiol 154:357–372

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2010) Meeting report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, expert meeting on detection and attribution related to anthropogenic climate change. IPCC Working Group I Technical support unit, university of Bern, Switzerland, p 55

  • Lambers H, Chapin FS III, Pons TL (2008) Plant water relations. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lawlor DW, Cornic G (2002) Photosynthetic carbon assimilation and associated metabolism in relation to water deficits in higher plants. Plant Cell Environ 25:275–294

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liu F, Stützel H (2004) Biomass partitioning, specific leaf area, and water use efficiency of vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) in response to drought stress. Sci Hortic Amst 102:15–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Fan Y, Long J, Wei R, Kjelgren R, Gong C et al (2013) Effects of soil water and nitrogen availability on photosynthesis and water use efficiency of Robinia pseudoacacia seedlings. J Environ Sci 25:585–595

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopes MS, Araus JL, van Heerden PDR, Foyer CH (2011) Enhancing drought tolerance in C4 crops. J Exp Bot 62:3135–3153

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McDowell NG (2011) Mechanisms linking drought, hydraulics, carbon metabolism, and vegetation mortality. Plant Physiol 155:1051–1059

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McDowell NG, Pockman W, Allen C, Breshears D, Cobb N, Kolb T et al (2008) Mechanisms of plant survival and mortality during drought: why do some plants survive while others succumb? New Phytol 178:719–739

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nada RM, Abogadallah GM (2014) Aquaporins are major determinants of water use efficiency of rice plants in the field. Plant Sci 227:165–180

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Overpeck JT, Cole JE (2006) Abrupt change in Earth’s climate system. Annu Rev Environ Resour 31:1–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oyekunle M, Badu-Apraku B (2014) Genetic analysis of grain yield and other traits of early-maturing maize inbreds under drought and well-watered conditions. J Agron Crop Sci 200:92–107

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Randriamanana T, Wang F, Lehto T, Aphalo PJ (2012) Water use strategies of seedlings of three Malagasy Adansonia species under drought. S Afr J Bot 81:61–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ristic Z, Cass DD (1991) Leaf anatomy of Zea mays L. in response to water shortage and high temperature: a comparison of drought-resistant and drought-sensitive lines. Bot Gazatte 152:173–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanderson JB, Daynard TB, Tollenaar M (1981) A mathematical model of the shape of corn leaves. Can J Plant Sci 61:1009–1011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sapeta H, Costa JM, Lourenco T, Maroco J, van der Linde P, Oliveira MM (2013) Drought stress response in Jatropha curcas: growth and physiology. Environ Exp Bot 85:76–84

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Semenov MA, Stratonovitch P, Alghabari F, Gooding MJ (2014) Adapting wheat in Europe for climate change. J Cereal Sci 59:245–256

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sevanto S, McDowell NG, Dickman LT, Pangle R, Pockman WT (2014) How do trees die? A test of the hydraulic failure and carbon starvation hypotheses. Plant Cell Environ 37:153–161

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sicher RC, Barnaby JY (2012) Impact of carbon dioxide enrichment on the responses of maize leaf transcripts and metabolites to water stress. Physiol Plantarum 144:238–253

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sperry JS, Donnelly JR, Tyree MT (1988) Seasonal occurrence of xylem embolism in sugar maple (Acer saccharum). Am J Bot 75:1212–1218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steudle E (2001) The cohesion-tension mechanism and the acquisition of water by plant roots. Ann Rev Plant Physiol Mol Bio 52:847–875

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun CX, Li MQ, Gao XX, Liu LN, Wu XF, Zhou JH (2015) Metabolic response of maize plants to multi-factorial abiotic stresses. Plant Biology. doi:10.1111/plb.12305

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Bilcke N, De Smedt S, Simbo DJ, Samson R (2013) Sap flow and water use in African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) seedlings in response to drought stress. S Afr J Bot 88:438–446

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weatherley PE (1950) Studies in the water relations of the cotton plant. New Phytol 49(1):81–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu ZZ, Zhou GS (2005) Effects of water stress and nocturnal temperature on carbon allocation in the perennial grass, Leymus chinensis. Physiol Plantarum 123:272–280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yamane K, Hayakawa K, Kawasaki M, Taniguchi M, Miyake H (2003) Bundle sheath chloroplasts of rice are more sensitive to drought stress than mesophyll chloroplasts. J Plant Physiol 160:1319–1327

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yao Y, Liu X, Li Z, Ma X, Rennenberg H, Wang X et al (2013) Drought-induced H2O2 accumulation in subsidiary cells is involved in regulatory signaling of stomatal closure in maize leaves. Planta 238:217–227

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JJ, Wu SY, Jiang L, Wang JL, Zhang X, Guo XP et al (2015) A detailed analysis of the leaf rolling mutant sll2 reveals complex nature in regulation of bulliform cell development in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Plant Biol 17(2):437–448

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zou L, Zhang Z, Qi D, Peng M, Lu T (2014) Cytological mechanisms of leaf rolling in rice. Crop Sci 54:198–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was partially supported by the “863” Program of China (2013AA100902), ‘‘111’’ Project of the Education Ministry of China (B12007), and the National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (31370599).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Yonglin Sun, Hongyue Wang, Hao Sheng, Xiping Liu, Yaqin Yao & Chunmei Gong

Authors
  1. Yonglin Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hongyue Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hao Sheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xiping Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yaqin Yao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Chunmei Gong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiping Liu.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

The authors of the paper declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Communicated by W. Filek.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sun, Y., Wang, H., Sheng, H. et al. Variations in internal water distribution and leaf anatomical structure in maize under persistently reduced soil water content and growth recovery after re-watering. Acta Physiol Plant 37, 263 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-2006-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-2006-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation