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How fast can angiosperms grow? Species and clonal diversity of growth rates in the genus Wolffia (Lemnaceae)

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Abstract

Species of the genus Wolffia (duckweed) are harvested from natural water bodies in many countries for human consumption. Relative growth rates (RGR) of 25 clones (ecotypes) representing all 11 species of the genus Wolffia were investigated under standardized laboratory conditions in search for potential candidates for production of Wolffia biomass at a biotechnological scale. This is the first report of large-scale screening of physiological properties of Wolffia species. Large differences in RGR of different clones were detected, e.g., in Wolffia globosa. Interestingly, intraspecific differences, i.e., at the level of clones are much higher than differences between species. Rate of photosynthesis (oxygen production in light) and respiration (oxygen consumption in dark) in clones of W. globosa, measured under standardized conditions, are in positive correlation with their respective RGR. Higher rate of photosynthesis seems to be a determining factor for higher RGR. The RGR of the first available axenic clone of the re-discovered species, Wolffia microscopica (clone 2005), depends strongly on the nutrient medium used, in contrast to other investigated species. This clone of W. microscopica has a doubling time of 29.3 h and represents the fastest growing flowering plant known till date.

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Abbreviations

DT:

Doubling time (h or day)

RGR:

Relative growth rate (day−1)

RY:

Relative yield (g g−1 week−1)

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Dr. Peter Schopfer, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany and Prof. Dr. Bisanti Biswal, Sambalpur University, Jyotovihar, Orissa, India for critical comments. We also thank the students Christopher Koterew and André Noack, Jena for their experimental support. KSS acknowledges the Science and Engineering Research Board, Govt. of India, for its support through the Fast Track Young Scientist project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    K. Sowjanya Sree

  2. Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Research Group Insect Symbiosis, Jena, Germany

    Sailendharan Sudakaran

  3. Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, University of Jena, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Klaus-J. Appenroth

Authors
  1. K. Sowjanya Sree
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  2. Sailendharan Sudakaran
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  3. Klaus-J. Appenroth
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Correspondence to Klaus-J. Appenroth.

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Communicated by L. A. Kleczkowski.

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11738_2015_1951_MOESM1_ESM.jpg

Fig. S1 Relative yield (RY) of clones belonging to all 11 species of the genus Wolffia. Column height depicts mean of the relative yield (g g−1 week−1) of all the clones of a particular species or that of a single clone of a species as per the investigation. The range of relative yield of the clones belonging to a particular species is shown, where applicable, by a vertical line with limiting cross bars. All plants were cultivated in Schenk-Hildebrandt medium. For the details about the investigated clones, see Table 1 (JPEG 405 kb)

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Sree, K.S., Sudakaran, S. & Appenroth, KJ. How fast can angiosperms grow? Species and clonal diversity of growth rates in the genus Wolffia (Lemnaceae). Acta Physiol Plant 37, 204 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-1951-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-1951-3

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