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Carbohydrate and carbon metabolite accumulation responses in leaves of ozone tolerant and ozone susceptible spinach plants after acute ozone exposure

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine whether exposure of plants to ozone (O3) increased the foliar levels of glucose, glucose sources, e.g., sucrose and starch, and glucose-6-phosphate (G6P), because in leaf cells, glucose is the precursor of the antioxidant, L-ascorbate, and glucose-6-phosphate is a source of NADPH needed to support antioxidant capacity. A further objective was to establish whether the response of increased levels of glucose, sucrose, starch and G6P in leaves could be correlated with a greater degree of plant tolerance to O3. Four commercially available Spinacia oleracea varieties were screened for tolerance or susceptibility to detrimental effects of O3 employing one 6.5 hour acute exposure to 25O nL O3 L-1 air during the light. One day after the termination of ozonation (29 d post emergence), leaves of the plants were monitored both for damage and for gas exchange characteristics. Cultivar Winter Bloomsdale (cv Winter) leaves were least damaged on a quantitative grading scale. The leaves of cv Nordic, the most susceptible, were approximately 2.5 times more damaged. Photosynthesis (Pn) rates in the ozonated mature leaves of cv Winter were 48.9% less, and in cv Nordic, 66.2% less than in comparable leaves of their non-ozonated controls. Stomatal conductance of leaves of ozonated plants was found not to be a factor in the lower Pn rates in the ozonated plants. At some time points in the light, leaves of ozonated cv Winter plants had significantly higher levels of glucose, sucrose, starch, G6P, G1P, pyruvate and malate than did leaves of ozonated cv Nordic plants. It was concluded that leaves of cv Winter displayed a higher tolerance to ozone mediated stress than those of cv Nordic, in part because they had higher levels of glucose and G6P that could be mobilized during diminished photosynthesis to generate antioxidants (e.g., ascorbate) and reductants (e.g., NADPH). Elevated levels of both pyruvate and malate in the leaves of ozonated cv Winter suggested an increased availability of respiratory substrates to support higher respiratory capacity needed for repair, growth, and maintenance.

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Abbreviations

ADPG-PPiase:

ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase

ASC:

L-ascorbic acid

APX:

ascorbate peroxidase

Ce:

CO2 concentration in air in the measuring cuvette during photosynthesis measurements

Ci:

CO2 concentration in the leaf intercellular spaces during photosynthesis measurement

Chl:

chlorophyll

DHA:

dehydroascorbic acid

DHA reductase:

dehydroascorbate reductase

DHAP:

dihydroxyacetone phosphate

GAP:

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate

Gluc:

glucose

GR:

glutathione reductase

Gsw :

stomatal conductance with units as mmol H2O m-2 s-1

GSSG:

oxidized glutathione

GSH:

reduced glutathione

G1P:

glucose-1-phosphate

G6P:

glucose-6-phosphate

G6P dehydrogenase:

glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase

6PG:

6-phosphogluconate

6PG dehydrogenase:

6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase

F6P:

fructose-6-phosphate

FBP:

fructose-1,6-bisphosphate

MAL:

malate

MDHA reductase:

monodehydroascorbate reductase

PE:

post-emergence

PEP:

phosphoenolpyruvate

PGA:

3-phosphoglycerate

Pi:

orthophosphate

PYR:

pyruvate

Pn:

net CO2 photoas-similation in leaves

PPFD:

photosynthetic photon flux density with units of μmol photons m-2 s-1

PPRC:

pentose phosphate reductive cycle

RuBP:

ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate

rubisco:

ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

SLW:

specific leaf weight

TCA cycle:

tricarboxylic acid cycle

Triose-P:

DHAP+GAP

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  1. Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-West, Climate Stress Laboratory, Natural Resources Institute, USDA, Building 046A, 20705-2350, Beltsville, MD, USA

    J. Michael Robinson & Randy A. Rowland

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  1. J. Michael Robinson
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Robinson, J.M., Rowland, R.A. Carbohydrate and carbon metabolite accumulation responses in leaves of ozone tolerant and ozone susceptible spinach plants after acute ozone exposure. Photosynth Res 50, 103–115 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00014882

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00014882

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