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Picea asperata pioneer and fibrous roots have different physiological mechanisms in response to soil freeze-thaw in spring

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Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

About 70 % of the total land area in the world are affected by soil freeze and thaw (FT) cycles. Root is the first organ of plant to sense soil environment and it is unclear how it copes with the soil FT. Based on the different functions of firstorder pioneer and fibrous roots in woody plants, we hypothesize that pioneer and fibrous roots respond differently. The experiment was conducted in a growth chamber using Picea asperata seedlings. We designed the FT based on field observation data. The physiological responses in fibrous and pioneer roots were examined. Fibrous roots had higher root vitality and N content, whereas pioneer roots exhibited higher total nonstructural saccharide content. The accumulation of O2 - under FT treatment was similar in the two types of roots. Pioneer roots showed higher osmolyte (especially proline) content, whereas fibrous roots had higher peroxidase activity. The present study confirmed that fibrous roots have stronger metabolism ability, whereas pioneer roots are the key storage organs. FT in the temperature range from -5 to 5 °C are mild and do not cause serious injury to roots. Pioneer roots have higher tolerance to soil FT in spring than fibrous roots. The roots have different strategies to FT: fibrous roots increase the antioxidant system, whereas pioneer roots accumulate more osmolytes. Such knowledge can help us to understand how roots of woody plants cope with soil FT.

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Abbreviations

A:

absorbance

ASA:

ascorbic acid

EDTA:

ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid

FT:

freeze-thaw

MDA:

malondialdehyde

O2 - :

superoxide radical

PCA:

principal component analysis

POD:

peroxidase

REL:

relative electrolyte leakage

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

SOD:

superoxide dismutase

TNC:

total nonstructural saccharides

TTC:

triphenyltetrazolium chloride.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, P.R. China

    C. Yin, Q. Xiao, Y. Sun, Q. Liu & X. Pang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P.R. China

    Q. Xiao & Y. Sun

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  1. C. Yin
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  2. Q. Xiao
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  3. Y. Sun
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  4. Q. Liu
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  5. X. Pang
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Correspondence to C. Yin or X. Pang.

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Acknowledgements: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31370495 and 31070533). The authors thank Xiang Wang from Mississippi State University, USA, for language improving. The first two authors contributed equally to this work.

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Yin, C., Xiao, Q., Sun, Y. et al. Picea asperata pioneer and fibrous roots have different physiological mechanisms in response to soil freeze-thaw in spring. Biol Plant 61, 709–716 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-017-0728-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-017-0728-5

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