Plant Physiol. Illumina
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Plant Physiology Preview
Published on February 4, 2009; 10.1104/pp.108.128884

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:
149/4/1638    most recent
pp.108.128884v1
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 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 CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Capitani, D.
Right arrow Articles by Loreto, F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Capitani, D.
Right arrow Articles by Loreto, F.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Capitani, D.
Right arrow Articles by Loreto, F.

Received September 2, 2008
Accepted February 2, 2009

In situ investigation of leaf water status by portable unilateral NMR

Donatella Capitani , Federico Brilli , Luisa Mannina , Noemi Proietti , and Francesco Loreto *

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – Istituto di Metodologie Chimiche (DC, NP, LM) and Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (FB, FL), 00015 Monterotondo Scalo (Roma) Italy; Dipartimento STAAM, Universita' degli Studi del Molise (LM), 86100 Campobasso, Italy

* Corresponding author; email: francesco.loreto{at}ibaf.cnr.it.

A portable unilateral NMR instrument was used to detect in field conditions the water status of leaves of herbaceous crops (Zea mays, Phaseolus vulgaris), mesophyllous trees (Populus nigra) and natural Mediterranean vegetation characterized by water-spending shrubs (Cistus incanus) and water-saving sclerophyllous trees (Quercus ilex). A good relationship was observed between NMR signal and leaf relative water content (RWC) and leaf transpiration in herbaceous leaves undergoing fast dehydration or slowly developing a drought stress. A relationship was also observed between NMR signal and water potential of Populus leaves during the development of a water stress, and when leaves recovered from the stress. In the natural vegetation, the relationship between NMR signal and water status was found in Cistus, the species characterized by high transpiration rates, when measured during a drought stress period and after a rainfall. In the case of the sclerophyllous Quercus, the NMR signal, the relative water content, and the transpiration rate did not change at different leaf water status possibly because a large amount of water is compartmentalized in cellular structures and macromolecules. The good association between NMR signal and RWC was lost in leaves exposed for 24 hours to dehydration or to an osmotic stress caused by polyethylene glycol (PEG) feeding. At this time, the transverse relaxation time (T2) became longer than in leaves maintained under optimal water conditions, and two indicators of membrane damage, the ion leakage and the emission of products of membrane lipoxygenation ((Z)-3-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexenol, and (E)-2-hexenol), increased. These results taken all together give information on the physiological state of a leaf under a developing stress and show the usefulness of the NMR instrumentation for screening vegetation health and fitness in natural and cultivated conditions. It is concluded that the portable unilateral NMR instrument may be usefully employed in field conditions to monitor non-destructively the water status of plants and to assist agricultural practices, such as irrigation scheduling, to minimize stomatal closure and the consequent limitation to plant production.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
ASPB Publications PLANT PHYSIOLOGY® THE PLANT CELL
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society of Plant Biologists