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Girdling-induced Alhagi sparsifolia senescence and chlorophyll fluorescence changes

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Photosynthetica

Abstract

Senescence constitutes the final stage of a plant organ and tissue development and is a subject to gene control and strict regulation. By the late growing season, when Alhagi sparsifolia entered the natural senescence period, a girdling treatment was carried out on the phloem to increase the sugar content in leaves and to investigate carbohydrate-induced leaf senescence. After the semi-girdling and full-girdling treatment, organic matter could not leave leaves due to the destruction of sieve tubes. This led to constantly increasing sugar contents in leaves. Girdling was shown to greatly accelerate the senescence of plants. In girdled leaves, chlorophyll (Chl) a, Chl b, carotenoids (Car), and both ratios of Chl a/b and Chl/Car were significantly reduced. On the donor side of PSII, the oxygen-evolving complex was inhibited under high concentrations of carbohydrates, which was manifested as the emergence of the K phase in fluorescence kinetic curves. On the acceptor side of PSII, the high carbohydrate content also led to the disruption of electron transport and reduced light-use efficiency, which was manifested as a reduction in numerous fluorescence parameters. We believe that the emergence and development of plant senescence was not necessarily induced by the high content of carbohydrates, because even a decrease in the carbohydrate concentration could not stop the senescence process. Although the high content of carbohydrates in plants could induce plant senescence, this kind of senescence was likely a pathological process, including degradations of physiological functions.

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Abbreviations

Car:

carotenoids

Chl:

chlorophyll

CK:

control

DM:

dry mass

FG:

full-girdling

FM:

fresh mass

Fv/Fm :

maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry

MDA:

malondialdehyde

M0 :

approximated initial slope of the fluorescence transient

OEC:

oxygen-evolving complex

PIabs :

performance index on absorption basis

P N :

net photosynthetic rate

Pro:

proline

PQ:

plastoquinone

QA :

primary quinone acceptor of PSII

QB :

secondary quinone acceptor of PSII

SE:

standard error

SG:

semigirdling

Sm :

normalized total complementary area above the O-J-I-P transient

Ψ0 :

probability that a trapped exciton moves an electron into the electron transport chain beyond QA − (at t = 0)

φE0 :

quantum yield for electron transport (at t = 0)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China

    G. -L. Tang, X. -Y. Li, L. -S. Lin & F. -J. Zeng

  2. Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Xinjiang, 848300, China

    G. -L. Tang, X. -Y. Li, L. -S. Lin & F. -J. Zeng

  3. Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Zone, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China

    G. -L. Tang, X. -Y. Li, L. -S. Lin & F. -J. Zeng

  4. University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    G. -L. Tang

  5. Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Soil and Plant Ecological Processes, College of Grassland and Environmental Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, 830052, China

    Z. -Y. Gu

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  1. G. -L. Tang
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  2. X. -Y. Li
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Correspondence to X. -Y. Li.

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Acknowledgments: We thank the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments. We also express gratitude to Zhuyu Gu for assistance with experiment, and Jake Carpenter for polishing the English in this manuscript. This work was financially supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (41571057), Key Program of Joint Funds of the National Natural Sciences Foundation and the Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China (U1203201), National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (41371516).

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Tang, G.L., Li, X.Y., Lin, L.S. et al. Girdling-induced Alhagi sparsifolia senescence and chlorophyll fluorescence changes. Photosynthetica 53, 585–596 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-015-0148-8

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