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Male poplars have a stronger ability to balance growth and carbohydrate accumulation than do females in response to a short‐term potassium deficiency
Author(s) -
Yang Yanni,
Jiang Hao,
Wang Maolin,
Korpelainen Helena,
Li Chunyang
Publication year - 2015
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/ppl.12325
Subject(s) - potassium deficiency , sucrose , potassium , carbohydrate , biology , photosynthesis , shoot , carbohydrate metabolism , zoology , botany , medicine , chemistry , endocrinology , biochemistry , organic chemistry
Potassium (K) deficiency influences plant performance, such as ion uptake and carbohydrate transport. However, little is known about differences between males and females in response to K deficiency. In this study, dry matter accumulation, photosynthetic capacity, allocation patterns of K + , Na + and carbohydrates, and ultrastructural changes in males and females of Populus cathayana exposed to K deficiency were investigated. The results indicated that males maintained a significantly higher K + content and K + /Na + ratio in leaves and stems than did females under K deficiency. Moreover, K deficiency significantly increased the sucrose content of females, whereas no significant effect on males was detected. In addition, a comparative analysis showed that males allocated more resources to roots, while females allocated more to leaves, which resulted in sexually different root/shoot (R/S) ratios. Transmission electron microscopic ( TEM ) observations showed that males suffered fewer injuries than did females. These results suggested that males have a better ability to cope with K deficiency. In addition, the combined effects of salinity and K deficiency on poplars were studied. The results indicated that salt stress aggravates the negative effects caused by K deficiency. Taken together, our study provided evidence for gender‐specific strategies in ion and carbohydrate allocation in poplars exposed to a short‐term K deficiency. In leaves and stems, the lower K + accumulation inhibited sucrose translocation and resulted in a decreased R/S ratio, which may contribute to males having a stronger ability to balance growth and carbohydrate accumulation when compared with females.