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Freezing stress and membrane injury of Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) tissues
Author(s) -
Pukacki Pawel,
Pukacka Stanislawa
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
physiologia plantarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.351
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1399-3054
pISSN - 0031-9317
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3054.1987.tb01960.x
Subject(s) - picea abies , shoot , membrane , supercooling , botany , chemistry , efflux , biophysics , horticulture , biology , biochemistry , physics , thermodynamics
Effects of sub‐zero temperatures (−5 to −35°C) on the tissues of needles, buds and shoots of Norway spruce [ Picea abies (L.) Karst.] were studied. The freezing caused increased efflux of cellular electrolytes. Freezing injury of the primordial shoots and 1‐year‐old shoots was the result of the spontaneous freezing of a deep supercooled cellular water. The crystallization injures the cellular membranes leading to the loss of semipermeability and to the drastic efflux of K + . In the needles there was no deep supercooling of water and two patterns of changes in the membranes, depending upon the range of the applied temperatures, could be distinguished. At 0 to – 25°C, which do not kill the cells, we observed a disturbance in the membrane semipermeability as monitored by electrolytes efflux within a few hours after thawing of the needles. At lower temperatures (−35°C) we observed irreversible loss of the membrane semipermeability, and death of the tissue. Those changes occurred 10 h after thawing and were probably caused by the released lytic enzymes and some toxic compounds, which acted on the cellular membranes.