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Sweetpotato tolerance to drought is associated to leaf concentration of total chlorophylls and polyphenols

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Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of water deficiency on the growth, and antioxidant metabolism of two sweetpotato cultivars [Ipomea batatas (L.) Lam. cvs. Canadense (CAN) and Arapey Uruguaia (URU)] during the initial tuberization stage. 20 and 100% soil field capacity water content was used to obtain drought-stressed and well-watered plants, respectively. Water deficiency decreased growth of both cultivars (as measured by their biomass and leaf area), but URU showed lower plant growth than CAN, indicating that URU has lower tolerance to drought. The leaves of drought-stressed plants of both cultivars showed increments in the concentration of carotenoids and anthocyanins, evidencing that these plant responses are common between both cultivars. However, only CAN exhibited an increased chlorophyll concentration in leaves of water-deficient plants when compared to the well-watered plants. While the concentration of phenolic compounds was decreased in URU grown in soil with water deficiency, it was maintained in CAN. Temporal evaluations of gas exchange-related variables showed that the low water supply to plants reduced photosynthesis, transpiration and stomatal conductance rates. We concluded that the short exposure to water deficiency reduces growth of sweetpotato plants, but the degree of drought-induced impacts depends on cultivar-specific protective responses that are mainly related with each genotype to maintain chlorophyll status and to modulate antioxidant compounds in their leaves.

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Code availability

SAS—Statistical Analysis System (9902392).

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Funding

The authors acknowldge Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001, for a scholarship supporting the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Agronomia, Universidade do Oeste Paulista (UNOESTE), Presidente Prudente, SP, 19067-175, Brazil

    Giovana Ferraresi Guimarães, Pedro Henrique Gorni, Hilton Fabricio Vitolo & Ana Cláudia Pacheco

  2. Departamento de Genética, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de São Paulo (Esalq/USP), Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil

    Marcia Eugenia Amaral Carvalho

Authors
  1. Giovana Ferraresi Guimarães
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  2. Pedro Henrique Gorni
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  3. Hilton Fabricio Vitolo
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  4. Marcia Eugenia Amaral Carvalho
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  5. Ana Cláudia Pacheco
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Correspondence to Ana Cláudia Pacheco.

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Guimarães, G.F., Gorni, P.H., Vitolo, H.F. et al. Sweetpotato tolerance to drought is associated to leaf concentration of total chlorophylls and polyphenols. Theor. Exp. Plant Physiol. 33, 385–396 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40626-021-00220-2

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