Plant Physiol. Tips for Better Browsing
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


Plant Physiology Preview
Published on June 7, 2007; 10.1104/pp.107.101352


OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE
This Article
Free via Open Access: OA
Right arrow Full Text (Plant Physiology Preview (PDF))
Right arrow Supplemental Data
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
144/4/1890    most recent
pp.107.101352v1
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 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 Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Brodribb, T. J.
Right arrow Articles by Jordan, G. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Brodribb, T. J.
Right arrow Articles by Jordan, G. J.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Brodribb, T. J.
Right arrow Articles by Jordan, G. J.

Received April 21, 2007
Accepted May 23, 2007

Leaf maximum Photosynthetic Rate and Venation are Linked by Hydraulics

Tim J. Brodribb *, Taylor S. Feild , and Gregory J. Jordan

Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tasmania; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 37996, USA

* Corresponding author; email: timothyb{at}utas.edu.au.

Leaf veins are almost ubiquitous across the range or terrestrial plant diversity, yet their influence on leaf photosynthetic performance remains uncertain. We show here that specific physical attributes of the vascular plumbing network are key limiters of the hydraulic and photosynthetic proficiency of any leaf. Following the logic that leaf veins evolved to bypass inefficient water transport through living mesophyll tissue, we examined the hydraulic pathway beyond the distal ends of the vein system as a possible limiter of water transport in leaves. We tested a mechanistic hypothesis that the length of this final traverse, as water moves from veins across the mesophyll to where it evaporates from the leaf, governs the hydraulic efficiency and photosynthetic carbon assimilation of any leaf. Sampling from 43 species across the breadth of plant diversity from mosses to flowering plants, we found that the "post-vein traverse" as determined by characters such as vein density, leaf thickness and cell shape, was strongly correlated with the hydraulic conductivity and maximum photosynthetic rate of foliage. The shape of this correlation provided clear support for the a priori hypothesis that vein positioning limits photosynthesis via its influence on leaf hydraulic efficiency.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
X. Noblin, L. Mahadevan, I. A. Coomaraswamy, D. A. Weitz, N. M. Holbrook, and M. A. Zwieniecki
Optimal vein density in artificial and real leaves
PNAS, July 8, 2008; 105(27): 9140 - 9144.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
L. Sack, E. M. Dietrich, C. M. Streeter, D. Sanchez-Gomez, and N. M. Holbrook
Leaf palmate venation and vascular redundancy confer tolerance of hydraulic disruption
PNAS, February 5, 2008; 105(5): 1567 - 1572.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
ASPB Publications PLANT PHYSIOLOGY THE PLANT CELL
Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Plant Biologists