Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Structural Adaptation of Aerial Parts of Invasive Alternanthera philoxeroides to Water Regime

  • ORIGINAL RESEARCH
  • Published:
Journal of Plant Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Alternanthera philoxeroides has successfully invaded diverse habitats with considerably various water availability, threatening biological diversity in many parts of the world. Because its genetic variation is very low, phenotypic plasticity is believed to be the primary strategy for adapting to the diverse habitats. In the present paper, we investigated the plastic changes of anatomical traits of the aerial parts of A. philoxeroides from flooding to wet then to drought habitat; the results are as follows: A. philoxeroides could change anatomical structures sensitively to adapt to water regime. As a whole, effects of water regime on structures in stem were greater than those in leaf. Except for principal vein diameter and stoma density on leaf surfaces, all other structural traits were significantly affected by water regime. Among which, cuticular wax layer, collenchyma cell wall, phloem fiber cell wall, and hair density on both leaf surfaces thickened significantly with decrease of water availability, whereas, pith cavity and vessel lumen in stem lessened significantly; wet habitat is vital for the spread of A. philoxeroides from flooding to drought habitat and vice versa, because in this habitat, it had the greatest structural variations; when switching from flooding to wet then to drought habitat, the variations of cuticular wax layer, collenchyma cell wall, phloem fiber cell wall, pith cavity area ratio, diameter of vessel lumen, and hair density on both leaf surfaces, played the most important role. These responsive variables contribute most to the adaptation of A. philoxeroides to diverse habitats with considerably various water availability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alpert P, Bone E, Holzapfel C (2000) Invasiveness, invisibility and the role of environmental stress in the spread of non-native plants. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst 3:52–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balagtas-Burow GE, Moroney JV, Longstreth DJ (1993) Growth and osmotic adjustment of cultured suspension cells from Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb after an abrupt increase in salinity. J Exp Bot 44:673–679

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bañon S, Fernandez JA, Franco JA, Torrecillas A, Alarcón JJ, Sánchez-Blanco MJ (2004) Effects of water stress and night temperature preconditioning on water relations and morphological and anatomical changes of Lotus creticus plants. Sci Horti 101:333–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Britta E, Pascale W, Andreas R, Dieter E (2006) Growth reactions of Pinus sylvestris L. and Quercus pubescens Willd. to drought years at a xeric site in Valais, Switzerland. Dendrochronologia 23:121–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckingham GR (1996) Biological control of alligator weed, Alternanthera philoxeroides, the world’s first aquatic weed success story. Castanea 61:232–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen KM, Wang F, Wang YH, Chen T, Hu YX, Lin JX (2006) Anatomical and chemical characteristics of foliar vascular bundles in four reed ecotypes adapted to different habitats. Flora 201:555–569

    Google Scholar 

  • Conner JK, Hartl DL (2004) A primer of ecological genetics. Sinauer, Sunderland

    Google Scholar 

  • Daehler CC (2003) Performance comparisons of co-occurring native and alien invasive plants: implications for conservation and restoration. Annu Rev Eco Syst 34:183–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eberbach PL, Bowmer KH (1995) Conversion of C-14-glyphosate to carbon dioxide by alligator weed. J Aquat Plant Manage 33:27–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahn A (1982) Plant anatomy. Pergamon, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Gartner BL, Aloni R, Funada R, Lichtfuss-Gautier AN, Roig FA (2002) Clues for dendrochronology from studies of wood structure and function. Dendrochronologia 20:53–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng YP, Pan XY, Xu CY, Wen JZ, Li B, Chen JK (2006) Phenotypic plasticity of invasive Alternanthera philoxeroides in relation to different water availability, compared to its native congener. Acta Oecol 30:380–385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez IG, Eckstein D (2003) Climatic signal of earlywood vessels of oak on a maritime site. Tree Phys 23:497–504

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottardini E, Cristofori A, Cristofolini F, Maccherini S, Ferretti M (2008) Ambient levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) may reduce pollen viability in Austrian pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) trees—correlative evidence from a field study. Sci Total Environ 402:299–305

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hacke UG, Sperry JS (2001) Functional and ecological xylem anatomy. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst 4:97–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedrick PW, Miller PS (1992) Conservation genetics: techniques and fundamentals. Ecol Appl 20:30–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenks MA, Ashworth EN (1999) Plant epicuticular waxes: function, production and genetics. Hortic Rev 23:1–68

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jia X, Yang XZ, Pan XY, Li B, Chen JK (2008) Vegetative propagation characteristics of Alternanthera philoxeroides in response to disturbances. Biodiversity Sci 16:229–235 (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Julien MH, Skarratt B, Maywald GF (1995) Potential geographical distribution of alligator weed and its biological control by Agasicles hygrophila. J Aquat Plant Manage 33:55–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim KS, Park SH, Jenks MA (2007) Changes in leaf cuticular waxes of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) plants exposed to water deficit. J. Plant Physiol 164:1134–1143

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kofidis G, Bosabalidis AM, Moustakas M (2007) Combined effects of altitude and season on leaf characteristics of Clinopodium vulgare L. (Labiatae). Environ Exp Bot 60:69–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lakusic B, Lakusic D, Jancic R, Stevanovic B (2006) Morpho-anatomical differentiation of the Balkan populations of the species Teucrium flavum L. (Lamiaceae). Flora 201:108–119

    Google Scholar 

  • Lens F, Luteyn JL, Smets E, Jansen S (2004) Ecological trends in the wood anatomy of Vaccinioideae (Ericaceae s.l.). Flora 199:309–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Leuschner C (2002) Air humidity as an ecological factor for woodland herbs: leaf water status, nutrient uptake, leaf anatomy, and productivity of eight species grown at low or high VPD levels. Flora 197:262–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, Xie Y (2002) Invasive alien species in China (in Chinese). Forestry Publishing, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Mateos-Naranjo E, Redondo-Gomez S, Luque CJ, Castellanos EM, Davy AJ, Figueroa ME (2008) Environmental limitations on recruitment from seed in invasive Spartina densiflora on a southern European salt marsh. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 79:727–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naqvi SM, Rizvi SA (2000) Accumulation of chromium and copper in three different soils and bioaccumulation in an aquatic plant, Alternanthera philoxeroides. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 65:55–61

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nunez-Elisea R, Schaffer B, Fisher JB, Colls AM, Crane JH (1999) Influence of flooding on net CO2 assimilation, growth and stem anatomy of Annona Species. Ann Bot 84:771–780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan XY, Geng YP, Zhang WJ, Li B, Chen JK (2006) The influence of abiotic stress and phenotypic plasticity on the distribution of invasive Alternanthera philoxeroides along a riparian zone. Acata Oecol 30:333–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker IM, Rodriguez J, Loik ME (2003) An evolutionary approach to understanding the biology of invasions: local adaptation and general-purpose genotypes in the weed Verbascum thapsus. Conserv Biol 17:59–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Percy KE, McQuattie CJ, Rebbeck JA (1994) Effects of air pollutants on epicu- ticular wax chemical composition. In: Percy KE, Cape JN, Jagels R, Simpson CJ (eds) Air pollutants and the leaf cuticle. NATO ASI Series, vol. G36. Springer, Berlin, pp 67–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Pezeshki SR (1994) Plant responses to flooding. In: Wilkinson RE (ed) Plant–environment interactions. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 289–321

    Google Scholar 

  • Sans FX, Garcia-Serrano H, Afán I (2004) Life-history traits of alien and native senecio species in the Mediterranean region. Acta Oecol. 26:167–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaffer B, Andersen PC, Ploetz RC (1992) Responses of fruit crops to flooding. Horti. Rev. 13:257–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Schooler SS, Yeates AG, Wilson JRU, Julien MH (2007) Herbivory, mowing, and herbicides differently affect production and nutrient allocation of Alternanthera philoxeroides. Aquat. Bot. 86:62–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Syros T, Kofidis G, Economou AS, Bosabalidis AM (2006) Leaf structural dynamics associated with adaptation of two Ebenus cretica ecotypes. Biol. Plant. 50:245–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vasellati V, Oesterheld M, Medan D, Loreti J (2001) Effects of flooding and drought on the anatomy of Paspalum dilatatum. Ann. Bot. 88:355–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang BR, Li WG, Wang JB (2005) Genetic diversity of Alternanthera philoxeroides in China. Aquat. Bot. 81:277–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M (2003) Least-cost input mixtures of water and nitrogen for photosynthesis. Am. Nat. 161:98–111

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xu CY, Zhang WJ, Fu CZ, Lu BR (2003) Genetic diversity of alligator weed in China by RAPD analysis. Biodivers. Conserv. 12:637–645

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ye WH, Li J, Cao HL, Ge XJ (2003) Genetic uniformity of Alternanthera philoxeroides in South China. Weed Res. 43:297–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu LQ, Fujii Y, Zhou YJ, Zhang JP, Lu YL, Xuan SN (2007) Response of exotic invasive weed Alternanthera philoxeroides to environmental factors and its competition with rice. Rice Sci. 14:49–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Professor Richard C. Schultz, Iowa State University, USA, for his helpful comments in language. The study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30770151), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSCX2-YW-Z-049).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430074, People’s Republic of China

    Yong Tao, Fang Chen, Kaiyuan Wan, Xinwei Li & Jianqiang Li

Authors
  1. Yong Tao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fang Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kaiyuan Wan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xinwei Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jianqiang Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jianqiang Li.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tao, Y., Chen, F., Wan, K. et al. The Structural Adaptation of Aerial Parts of Invasive Alternanthera philoxeroides to Water Regime. J. Plant Biol. 52, 403–410 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12374-009-9051-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12374-009-9051-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation