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Salsola laricifolia, another C3–C4 intermediate species in tribe Salsoleae s.l. (Chenopodiaceae)

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Abstract

This study identifies Salsola laricifolia as a C3–C4 intermediate in tribe Salsoleae s.l., Chenopodiaceae, and compares S. laricifolia with the previously described C3–C4 intermediates in Salsoleae. Photosynthetic pathway characteristics were studied in four species of this tribe including S. laricifolia, C3 Sympegma regelii, C3–C4 S. arbusculiformis, and C4 S. arbuscula, using the approaches of leaf anatomy and ultrastructure, activities of ribulose 1-5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) and PEP carboxylase (PEPC), CO2 compensation point, and immunolocalization of Rubisco, PEPC, and the P-subunit of glycine decarboxylase (GDC). Salsola laricifolia has intermediate features, with near continuous and distinctive Kranz-like cells (KLCs) compared with the C3-Sympegmoid anatomical type and the C3–C4 intermediate S. arbusculiformis, a relatively low CO2 compensation point (30.4 μmol mol−1) and mesophyll (M)-to KLC tissue ratio, mitochondria in KLCs primarily occurring along the centripetal wall, and specific localization of P-protein GDC in the KLCs. The C3-type isotope value (−22.4 ‰), the absence of the clear labeling for PEPC in M cells, and the low activity of the PEPC enzyme (61.5 μmol mg−1 chlorophyll−1 h−1) support the identification of S. laricifolia as a type I C3–C4 intermediate. Although these C3–C4 intermediate species have different structural features, one with discontinuous KL cells and the other with continuous, they have similar characteristics in physiology and biochemistry.

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Abbreviations

Rubisco:

Ribulose 1-5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

PEPC:

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase

GDC:

Glycine decarboxylase

KLC:

Kranz-like cell

M:

Mesophyll

BS:

Bundle sheath

KC:

Kranz cell

Г :

CO2 compensation point

A max :

The maximum rate of photosynthesis

δ 13C:

Carbon isotope value

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to contributions made by Dr. Lin Wu and Dr. Xiaobin Zhou (measurement of CO2 compensation points) from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (Urumqi, Xinjiang, China), Prof. Peixi Su (measurement of CO2 compensation points) from the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, CAS (Lanzhou, Gansu, China), Jianmin Luo (leaf ultrastructure) from Xinjiang University (Urumqi, Xinjiang, China), Prof. Elena V. Voznesenskaya (important comments) from Laboratory of Anatomy and Morphology, V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences (Saint-Petersburg, Russia), and Dr. Stewart C. Sanderson (English improvement) from the Shrub Sciences Laboratory (USDA, Utah, USA). This research was funded by the National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB825104), CAS West Light Foundation (No. XBBS201209), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31300217) and Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, CAS.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 818 South Beijing Road, Ürūmqi, 830011, Xinjiang, People’s Republic of China

    Zhibin Wen & Mingli Zhang

  2. Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, People’s Republic of China

    Mingli Zhang

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  1. Zhibin Wen
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Wen, Z., Zhang, M. Salsola laricifolia, another C3–C4 intermediate species in tribe Salsoleae s.l. (Chenopodiaceae). Photosynth Res 123, 33–43 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-014-0037-1

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