chlorophyll-b and Dehydration

The health of several East Antarctic moss-beds is declining as liquid water availability is reduced due to recent environmental changes. Consequently, a noninvasive and spatially explicit method is needed to assess the vigour of mosses spread throughout rocky Antarctic landscapes. Here, we explore the possibility of using near-distance imaging spectroscopy for spatial assessment of moss-bed health. Turf chlorophyll a and b, water content and leaf density were selected as quantitative stress indicators. Reflectance of three dominant Antarctic mosses Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Ceratodon purpureus and Schistidium antarctici was measured during a drought-stress and recovery laboratory experiment and also with an imaging spectrometer outdoors on water-deficient (stressed) and well-watered (unstressed) moss test sites. The stress-indicating moss traits were derived from visible and near infrared turf reflectance using a nonlinear support vector regression. Laboratory estimates of chlorophyll content and leaf density were achieved with the lowest systematic/unsystematic root mean square errors of 38.0/235.2 nmol g(-1) DW and 0.8/1.6 leaves mm(-1) , respectively. Subsequent combination of these indicators retrieved from field hyperspectral images produced small-scale maps indicating relative moss vigour. Once applied and validated on remotely sensed airborne spectral images, this methodology could provide quantitative maps suitable for long-term monitoring of Antarctic moss-bed health.

Topics: Antarctic Regions; Bryophyta; Chlorophyll; Chlorophyll A; Dehydration; Droughts; Geography; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Plant Leaves; Spectrum Analysis; Stress, Physiological; Water

Dioon edule seedling mortality is mostly attributed to dehydration by prolonged drought, even when they present xeromorphic characteristics like the adult plants. The effect of germination date (GD) and soil water deficit on seedling tolerance to water stress was assessed. The seedlings germinated and grown from mature seeds every month from December to April GD were selected to evaluate the leaf area, photosynthetic pigment content, crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) activity, stomatal conductance (gs) and leaflet anatomy at soil water potential (Ψs) of 0.0 MPa (day 1), -0.1 MPa (day 40), -1.0 MPa (day 90), -1.5 MPa (day 130), and a control (0.0 MPa at day 130) to recognize differences due to leaf development. The seedlings shifted from C3 to CAM cycling when exposed to water stress at Ψs of -1.0 MPa, like adult plants. The March-April GD seedlings with undeveloped sclerified hypodermis and stomata, presented reduced leaf area, lower Chlorophyll a/b ratio, higher CAM activity and midday partial stomatal closure when reached Ψs of -1.0 MPa. These have higher probability of dehydration during severe drought (February-April) than those of the December-February GD with similar Ψs. Plants used for restoration purposes must have full leaf development to increase the survival.

Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Carotenoids; Chlorophyll; Chlorophyll A; Dehydration; Germination; Photosynthesis; Plant Stomata; Seedlings; Soil; Time Factors; Water; Zamiaceae

Protein composition and native state of chlorophylls were analyzed in two wheat (Triticum durum L.) genotypes with different tolerance to drought, Barakatli-95 (drought-tolerant) and Garagylchyg-2 (drought-sensitive), during water deficit. It is shown that the plants subjected to water deficit appear to have a slight increase in alpha- and beta-subunits of CF1 ATP-synthase complex (57.5 and 55 kD, respectively) in Barakatli-95 and their lower content in Garagylchyg-2. Steady-state levels of the core antenna of PS II (CP47 and CP43) and light-harvesting Chl a/b-apoproteins (LHC) II in the 29.5-24 kD region remained more or less unchanged in both wheat genotypes. The synthesis of 36 kD protein and content of low-molecular-weight polypeptides (21.5, 16.5, and 14 kD) were noticeably increased in the tolerant genotype Barakatli-95. Drought caused significant changes in the carotenoid region of the spectrum (400-500 nm) in drought-sensitive genotype Garagylchyg-2 (especially in the content of pigments of the violaxanthin cycle). A shift of the main band from 740-742 to 738 nm is observed in the fluorescence spectra (77 K) of chloroplasts from both genotypes under water deficiency, and there is a stimulation of the ratio of fluorescence band intensity F687/F740.

Topics: Adaptation, Biological; Chlorophyll; Chlorophyll A; Dehydration; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Genotype; Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes; Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins; Photosystem I Protein Complex; Photosystem II Protein Complex; Plant Proteins; Rosaniline Dyes; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; Spectrophotometry; Thylakoids; Triticum