Abstract
The effect of infection by the rust fungus Uromyces rumicis and fertilization by different concentrations of nitrate or ammonium solutions on the concentrations of alcohol-soluble carbohydrates, fructans and starch in Rumex obtusifolius leaves was investigated. In leaves from healthy plants there was an increase in concentration of alcohol-soluble carbohydrates and fructans as the concentration of nitrate given was decreased, with the exception of nitrogen-stressed plants (those fed less than 10 mM l-1 nitrate) which had a lower concentration of alcohol-soluble carbohydrates than plants fed 10 mM l-1 nitrate. There was an increase in fructan and starch concentration in leaves as the concentration of ammonium solution given was decreased. The concentration of alcohol-soluble carbohydrates was reduced in infected leaves and increased in healthy leaves on infected plants, while the fructan concentration increased in infected leaves, compared to healthy leaves. The effects of infection were consistent over the range of nitrogen concentrations used, and thus were additive to the effects of fertilization. These results confirm the known effects of fertilization or fungal infection, singly, and indicate that, when combined, nitrogen deficiency and fungal infection may produce an additive stress on the plant.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Archbold HK (1938) Physiological studies in plant nutrition VII. The role of fructosans in the carbohydrate metabolism of the barley plant. Part 2. Seasonal changes in the carbohydrates, with a note on the effect of nitrogen deficiency. Annals of Botany 2 (new series): 403-435
Archbold HK (1940) Fructosans in the monocotyledons, a review. New Phytologist 39: 185-219
Ayres PG (ed) (1992) Pests and Pathogens: Plant Responses to Foliar Attack. Bios Scientific Publishers, Oxford
Borland AM and Farrar JF (1985) Diel patterns of carbohydrate metabolism in leaf blades and leaf sheaths of Poa annuaL. and Poa x jemtlandica(Almq.) Richt. New Phytologist 100: 519-531
Cavers PB and Harper JL (1964) Rumex obtusifoliusL. and R. crispusL. Journal of Ecology 52: 737-766
Chapin FS (1980) The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11: 233-260
Dubois M, Gilles KA, Hamilton JK, Rebers PA and Smith F (1956) Colorimetric method for determination of sugars and related substances. Analytical Chemistry 28: 350-356
Farrar JF (1980) Allocation of carbon to growth, storage and respiration in the vegetative barley plant. Plant, Cell and Environment 3: 97-105
Farrar JF (1989) Fluxes and turnover of sucrose and fructans in healthy and diseased plants. Journal of Plant Physiology 134: 137-140
Farrar JF (1992) Beyond photosynthesis: the translocation and respiration of diseased leaves. In: Ayres PG (ed) Pests and Pathogens: Plant Responses to Foliar Attack (pp 107-127) Bios Scientific Publishers, Oxford
Fichtner K, Quick WP, Schulze E-D, Mooney HA, Rodermel SR, Bogorad L and Stitt M (1993) Decreased ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase in transgenic tobacco transformed with ‘antisense’ rbcS. Planta 190: 1-9
Hatcher PE (1996) The effect of insect-fungus interactions on the autumn growth and over-wintering of Rumex crispusand R. obtusifoliusseedlings. Journal of Ecology 84: 101-109
Hatcher PE, Ayres PG and Paul ND (1995a) The effect of natural and simulated insect herbivory, and leaf age, on the process of infection of Rumex crispusL. and R. obtusifoliusL. by Uromyces rumicis(Schum.) Wint. New Phytologist 130: 239-249
Hatcher PE, Paul ND, Ayres PG and Whittaker JB (1995b) Interactions between Rumexspp., herbivores and a rust fungus: the effect of Uromyces rumicisinfection on leaf nutritional quality. Functional Ecology 9: 97-105
Hatcher PE, Paul ND, Ayres PG and Whittaker JB (1997a) Nitrogen fertilization affects interactions between the components of an insect-fungus-plant tripartite system. Functional Ecology 11: 537-544
Hatcher PE, Paul ND, Ayres PG and Whittaker JB (1997b) The effect of nitrogen fertilization and rust fungus infection, singly and combined, on the leaf chemical composition of Rumex obtusifolius. Functional Ecology 11: 545-553
Haynes RJ and Goh KM (1978) Ammonium and nitrate nutrition of plants. Biological Reviews 53: 465-510
Herold A (1984) Biochemistry and physiology of synthesis of starch in leaves: autotrophic and heterotrophic chloroplasts. In: Lewis DH (ed) Storage Carbohydrates in Vascular Plants (pp 181-204) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Huber DM and Watson RD (1974) Nitrogen form and plant disease. Annual Review of Phytopathology 12: 139-165
Inman RE (1971) A preliminary evaluation of Rumexrust as a biological control agent for curly dock. Phytopathology 61: 102-107
Melzer A, Gebauer G and Rehder H (1984) Nitrate content and nitrate reductase activity in Rumex obtusifoliusL. II. Responses to nitrate starvation and nitrogen fertilization. Oecologia 63: 380-385
Monaco TJ and Cumbo EL (1972) Growth and development of curly dock and broadleaf dock. Weed Science 20: 64-67
Mooney HA, Fichtner K and Schulze E-D (1995) Growth, photosynthesis and storage of carbohydrates and nitrogen inPhaseolus lunatusin relation to resource availability. Oecologia 104: 17-23
Paul ND and Ayres PG (1986) The effects of nutrient deficiency and rust infection on the relationship between root dry weight and length in groundsel (Senecio vulgarisL.). Annals of Botany 57: 353-360
Pollock CJ and Cairns AJ (1991) Fructan metabolism in grasses and cereals. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 42: 77-101
Schulze W, Schulze E-D, Stadler J, Heilmeier H, Stitt M and Mooney HA (1994) Growth and reproduction of Arabidopsis thalianain relation to storage of starch and nitrate in the wildtype and in starch-deficient and nitrate-uptake-deficient mutants. Plant, Cell and Environment 17: 795-809
Sokal RR and Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry, 3rd edn. Freeman, New York
Whipps JM and Lewis DH (1981) Patterns of translocation, storage and interconversion of carbohydrates. In: Ayres PG (ed) Effects of Disease on the Physiology of the Growing Plant (pp 47-83) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hatcher, P., Ayres, P. The effect of fungal infection and nitrogen fertilization on the carbohydrate composition of Rumex obtusifolius leaves. European Journal of Plant Pathology 104, 553–559 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008677027383
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008677027383