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Hydraulic adjustments in aspen (Populus tremuloides) seedlings following defoliation involve root and leaf aquaporins

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Abstract

Main conclusion

Changes in root and leaf hydraulic properties and stimulation of transpiration rates that were initially triggered by defoliation were accompanied by corresponding changes in leaf and root aquaporin expression.

Aspen (Populus tremuloides) seedlings were subjected to defoliation treatments by removing 50, 75 % or all of the leaves. Root hydraulic conductivity (Lpr) was sharply reduced in plants defoliated for 1 day and 1 week. The decrease in L pr could not be prevented by stem girdling and it was accompanied in one-day-defoliated plants by a large decrease in the root expression of PIP1,2 aquaporin and an over twofold decrease in hydraulic conductivity of root cortical cells (L pc). Contrary to L pr and L pc, 50 and 75 % defoliation treatments profoundly increased leaf lamina conductance (K lam) after 1 day and this increase was similar in magnitude for both defoliation treatments. Transpiration rates (E) rapidly declined after the removal of 75 % of leaves. However, E increased by over twofold in defoliated plants after 1 day and the increases in E and K lam were accompanied by five- and tenfold increases in the leaf expression of PIP2;4 in 50 and 75 % defoliation treatments, respectively. Defoliation treatments also stimulated net photosynthesis after 1 day and 3 weeks, although the increase was not as high as E. Leaf water potentials remained relatively stable following defoliation with the exception of a small decrease 1 day after defoliation which suggests that root water transport did not initially keep pace with the increased transpirational water loss. The results demonstrate the importance of root and leaf hydraulic properties in plant responses to defoliation and point to the involvement of PIP aquaporins in the early events following the loss of leaves.

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Abbreviations

E :

Transpiration

K lam :

Leaf lamina hydraulic conductance

K LEAF :

Absolute leaf hydraulic conductance

K r :

Root hydraulic conductance

L pc :

Cell hydraulic conductivity

L pr :

Root hydraulic conductivity

PIP:

Plasma membrane intrinsic protein

Pn :

Net photosynthesis

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported through the Discovery Research Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to JJZ.

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  1. Juan Liu

    Present address: Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, 650224, Yunnan, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 442 Earth Sciences Bldg, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada

    Juan Liu, María A. Equiza, Alfonso Navarro-Rodenas, Seong H. Lee & Janusz J. Zwiazek

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Correspondence to Janusz J. Zwiazek.

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Liu, J., Equiza, M.A., Navarro-Rodenas, A. et al. Hydraulic adjustments in aspen (Populus tremuloides) seedlings following defoliation involve root and leaf aquaporins. Planta 240, 553–564 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-014-2106-2

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