Water-use strategies in flowers from a neotropical savanna under contrasting environmental conditions during flowering

Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB. - 1991. - 144(2019) vom: 15. Nov., Seite 283-291
1. Verfasser: Teixido, Alberto L (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Leite-Santos, Victor B, Paiva, Élder A S, Silveira, Fernando A O
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2019
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB
Schlagworte:Journal Article Corolla transpiration rates Kielmeyera coriacea Kielmeyera regalis Pectin Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) Water content Water 059QF0KO0R Pectins 89NA02M4RX
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Flowers require high amounts of water, which ultimately may compromise pollinator attractiveness under water limitation. Water-use and -conservation strategies in leaves from hot and dry ecosystems are well documented, yet little is known about mechanisms of water allocation in flowers, particularly in tropical savanna ecosystems. We evaluated traits related to corolla water status in two Kielmeyera species that differ in flowering phenology and flower size: larger-flowered K. regalis blooms during the rainy summer and smaller-flowered K. coriacea blooms during the dry winter. To test the hypothesis that water demand in corollas increases with increasing vapor pressure deficit (VPD), we analyzed interspecific differences in corolla stomatal conductance and density, water content, and fresh and dry mass per unit area. We also performed hand-pollination and pollinator-exclusion experiments to determine variation in floral longevity. Corolla transpiration rates were higher in K. coriacea (157 vs 95 g·H2O·m-2·h-1 for K. coriacea and K. regalis, respectively), and increased with VPD in both species. Stomatal density was 25-fold higher in K. coriacea, and corolla fresh and dry mass per unit of area were 47% and 21% higher, respectively, in K. coriacea, due to thick pectin-rich cell walls. The high pectin content increases water content in corollas of K. coriacea. Regardless of pollination, flowers lasted one day in K. coriacea and three in K. regalis. Our study suggests structure-function relationships of floral traits with flowering season, and that K. coriacea displays small and short-lived corollas with high water content to buffer the high evaporative demand during the dry period
Beschreibung:Date Completed 20.02.2020
Date Revised 30.09.2020
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status MEDLINE
ISSN:1873-2690
DOI:10.1016/j.plaphy.2019.10.004