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Water stress impacts on respiratory rate, efficiency and substrates, in growing and mature foliage of Eucalyptus spp

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Abstract

In previous studies, water stress has induced variable and sometimes contradictory changes in respiration. We used isothermal calorimetry to measure the response of foliar respiration to water deficit in nine eucalypt genotypes. Specific growth rates (R SG) of shoots and leaves of variable age were measured independently, and the data were applied to both the growth-maintenance and enthalpy balance models. We calculated the oxidation state of respiratory substrate and the enthalpy change for the conversion of substrate carbon to biomass (ΔH B). Moderate water stress reduced the R SG of shoots by 38% (P<0.01) and carbon conversion efficiency by 15% (P<0.05). The relationship between carbon conversion efficiency and R SG was not affected by water deficit for shoots, but was significantly altered for leaves. Water deficit increased maintenance respiration by about 23% (P<0.001). The growth coefficient of respiration was not significantly altered. However, changes in oxidation states of substrate and biomass suggest that the energy requirements of biosynthesis were increased under water stress. Our results confirm that carbohydrates are the major respiratory substrates in growing tissues, though mature leaves utilized a substantial component of more reduced substrate. Mature leaves had variable oxidation states for respiration substrate, which indicates a variable relationship between CO2 evolution and ATP production. Measured ΔH B in shoots and leaves were too small for reliable estimation of R SG by the enthalpy balance model. We also found significant effects of water stress on the oxidation state of substrate and ΔH B.

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Abbreviations

ΔH B :

Enthalpy change for conversion of substrate carbon to biomass

\( \Delta H_{{{\text{O}}_{2} }} \) :

Enthalpy change for catabolism of carbon substrate per mol O2 consumed

εC :

Carbon conversion efficiency

g :

Growth coefficient of respiration

γB :

Oxidation state of biomass

γS :

Oxidation state of respiratory substrate

m :

Maintenance coefficient of respiration

P/O:

Ratio of oxidative phosphorylation to oxygen consumption

R ATP :

Specific rate of ATP production

\( R_{{{\text{CO}}_{{\text{2}}} }} \) :

Specific rate of CO2 evolution

\( R_{{{\text{O}}_{2} }} \) :

Sspecific rate of O2 consumption

R q :

Specific rate of heat evolution

R SG :

Specific growth rate

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Saltgrow Pty. Ltd. for access to the hybrid cuttings and Gunns Ltd. for the E. globulus seed. AC is funded by the University of Melbourne and Department of Primary Industries, Victoria through a Nancy Millis Scholarship and MAA acknowledges the support of the Australian Research Council. We thank Lee Hansen, Craig Macfarlane, Michael Tausz, Peter Ades, and Stefan Arndt for valuable discussions and comment and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions that have substantially improved the manuscript.

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  1. School of Forest and Ecosystem Science, University of Melbourne, Waters St, Creswick, VIC, Australia

    Andrew N. Callister

  2. Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, Australia

    Mark A. Adams

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Correspondence to Andrew N. Callister.

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Callister, A.N., Adams, M.A. Water stress impacts on respiratory rate, efficiency and substrates, in growing and mature foliage of Eucalyptus spp. Planta 224, 680–691 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-006-0247-7

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