Elevated CO2 and water availability effect on gas exchange and nodule development in N2-fixing alfalfa plants
N2-fixing alfalfa plants were grown in controlled conditions at different CO2 levels (350 μmol mol−1versus 700 μmol mol−1) and water-availability conditions (WW, watered at maximum pot water capacity versus WD, watered at 50% of control treatments) in order to determine the CO2 effect (and applied a...
| Autores: | , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2009 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Navarra |
| Repositorio: | Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dadun.unav.edu:10171/23155 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10171/23155 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | C sink strength Climate change Medicago sativa Nodule metabolism Photosynthetic acclimation Acclimation |
| Sumario: | N2-fixing alfalfa plants were grown in controlled conditions at different CO2 levels (350 μmol mol−1versus 700 μmol mol−1) and water-availability conditions (WW, watered at maximum pot water capacity versus WD, watered at 50% of control treatments) in order to determine the CO2 effect (and applied at two water regimes) on plant growth and nodule activity in alfalfa plants. The CO2 stimulatory effect (26% enhancement) on plant growth was limited to WW plants, whereas no CO2 effect was observed in WD plants. Exposure to elevated CO2 decreased Rubisco carboxylation capacity of plants, caused by a specific reduction in Rubisco (EC 4.1.1.39) concentration (11% in WW and 43% in WD) probably explained by an increase in the leaf carbohydrate levels. Plants grown at 700 μmol mol−1 CO2 maintained control photosynthetic rates (at growth conditions) by diminishing Rubisco content and by increasing nitrogen use efficiency. Interestingly, our data also suggest that reduction in shoot N demand (reflected by the TSP and especially Rubisco depletion) affected negatively nodule activity (malate dehydrogenase, EC 1.1.1.37, and glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase, EC 2.6.1.1, activities) particularly in water-limited conditions. Furthermore, nodule DM and TSS data revealed that those nodules were not capable to overcome C sink strength limitations. |
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