Plant Physiol. EPICENTRE Biotechnologies
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (13)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lapointe, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lapointe, L.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Lapointe, L.

Fruit Development in Trillium1
Dependence on Stem Carbohydrate Reserves

Line Lapointe*

Département de Biologie, Université Laval, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4

Leaves are the main source of carbon for fruit maturation in most species. However, in plants seeing contrasting light conditions such as some spring plants, carbon fixed during the spring could be used to support fruit development in the summer, when photosynthetic rates are low. We monitored carbohydrate content in the rhizome (a perennating organ) and the aboveground stem of trillium (Trillium erectum) over the entire growing season (May-November). At the beginning of the fruiting stage, stems carrying a developing fruit were harvested, their leaves were removed, and the leafless stems were maintained in aqueous solution under controlled conditions up to full fruit maturation. These experiments showed that stem carbohydrate content was sufficient to support fruit development in the absence of leaves and rhizome. This is the first reported case, to our knowledge, of complete fruit development sustained only by a temporary carbohydrate reservoir. This carbohydrate accumulation in the stem during the spring enables the plant to make better use of the high irradiances occurring at that time. Many other species might establish short-term carbohydrate reservoirs in response to seasonal changes in growing conditions.

1   This work was supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
*   E-mail line.lapointe{at}bio.ulaval.ca; fax 1-418-656-2043.

Plant Physiol. (1998) 117: 183-188
Copyright Clearance Center:   0032-0889/98/117/0183/06
© 1998 American Society of Plant Physiologists




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
T. Y. Ida and G. Kudo
Timing of Canopy Closure Influences Carbon Translocation and Seed Production of an Understorey Herb, Trillium apetalon (Trilliaceae)
Ann. Bot., November 30, 2007; (2007) mcm296v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Bot.Home page
M.-C. Routhier and L. Lapointe
Impact of tree leaf phenology on growth rates and reproduction in the spring flowering species Trillium erectum (Liliaceae)
Am. J. Botany, March 1, 2002; 89(3): 500 - 505.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
ASPB Publications PLANT PHYSIOLOGY® THE PLANT CELL
Copyright © 1998 by the American Society of Plant Biologists