Cargando…

Effects of Light, N and Defoliation on Biomass Allocation in Poa annua

Plants allocate biomass to above- and below-ground organs in response to environmental conditions. While the broad patterns are well-understood, the mechanisms by which plants allocate new growth remain unclear. Modeling approaches to biomass allocation broadly split into functional equilibrium type...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Irving, Louis John, Mori, Sayuki
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8465640/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34579316
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants10091783
_version_ 1784572927711117312
author Irving, Louis John
Mori, Sayuki
author_facet Irving, Louis John
Mori, Sayuki
author_sort Irving, Louis John
collection PubMed
description Plants allocate biomass to above- and below-ground organs in response to environmental conditions. While the broad patterns are well-understood, the mechanisms by which plants allocate new growth remain unclear. Modeling approaches to biomass allocation broadly split into functional equilibrium type models and more mechanistically based transport resistance type models. We grew Poa annua plants in split root boxes under high and low light levels, high and low N supplies, with N supplied equally or unequally. Our data suggest that light level had the strongest effect on root mass, with N level being more important in controlling shoot mass. Allocation of growth within the root system was compatible with phloem partitioning models. The root mass fraction was affected by both light and N levels, although within light levels the changes were primarily due to changes in shoot growth, with root mass remaining relatively invariant. Under low light conditions, plants exhibited increased specific leaf area, presumably to compensate for low light levels. In a follow-up experiment, we showed that differential root growth could be suppressed by defoliation under low light conditions. Our data were more compatible with transport resistance type models.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8465640
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-84656402021-09-27 Effects of Light, N and Defoliation on Biomass Allocation in Poa annua Irving, Louis John Mori, Sayuki Plants (Basel) Article Plants allocate biomass to above- and below-ground organs in response to environmental conditions. While the broad patterns are well-understood, the mechanisms by which plants allocate new growth remain unclear. Modeling approaches to biomass allocation broadly split into functional equilibrium type models and more mechanistically based transport resistance type models. We grew Poa annua plants in split root boxes under high and low light levels, high and low N supplies, with N supplied equally or unequally. Our data suggest that light level had the strongest effect on root mass, with N level being more important in controlling shoot mass. Allocation of growth within the root system was compatible with phloem partitioning models. The root mass fraction was affected by both light and N levels, although within light levels the changes were primarily due to changes in shoot growth, with root mass remaining relatively invariant. Under low light conditions, plants exhibited increased specific leaf area, presumably to compensate for low light levels. In a follow-up experiment, we showed that differential root growth could be suppressed by defoliation under low light conditions. Our data were more compatible with transport resistance type models. MDPI 2021-08-26 /pmc/articles/PMC8465640/ /pubmed/34579316 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants10091783 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Irving, Louis John
Mori, Sayuki
Effects of Light, N and Defoliation on Biomass Allocation in Poa annua
title Effects of Light, N and Defoliation on Biomass Allocation in Poa annua
title_full Effects of Light, N and Defoliation on Biomass Allocation in Poa annua
title_fullStr Effects of Light, N and Defoliation on Biomass Allocation in Poa annua
title_full_unstemmed Effects of Light, N and Defoliation on Biomass Allocation in Poa annua
title_short Effects of Light, N and Defoliation on Biomass Allocation in Poa annua
title_sort effects of light, n and defoliation on biomass allocation in poa annua
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8465640/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34579316
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants10091783
work_keys_str_mv AT irvinglouisjohn effectsoflightnanddefoliationonbiomassallocationinpoaannua
AT morisayuki effectsoflightnanddefoliationonbiomassallocationinpoaannua