Structural and Physiological Traits of Compound Leaves of <i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> Trees Grown in Urban and Suburban Ambient Conditions
<i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> L. (carob tree) is an endemic plant to the eastern Mediterranean region. In the present study, anatomical and physiological traits of successively grown compound leaves (i.e., the first, third, fifth and seventh leaves) of <i>C. siliqua</i> were inves...
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/3/514 |
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| author | Sophia Papadopoulou Aikaterina L. Stefi Maria-Sonia Meletiou-Christou Nikolaos S. Christodoulakis Dimitrios Gkikas Sophia Rhizopoulou |
| author_facet | Sophia Papadopoulou Aikaterina L. Stefi Maria-Sonia Meletiou-Christou Nikolaos S. Christodoulakis Dimitrios Gkikas Sophia Rhizopoulou |
| author_sort | Sophia Papadopoulou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> L. (carob tree) is an endemic plant to the eastern Mediterranean region. In the present study, anatomical and physiological traits of successively grown compound leaves (i.e., the first, third, fifth and seventh leaves) of <i>C. siliqua</i> were investigated in an attempt to evaluate their growth under urban and suburban environmental conditions. Chlorophyll and phenolic content, as well as the specific leaf area of the compound leaves were determined. Structural traits of leaflets (i.e., thickness of palisade and spongy parenchyma, abaxial and adaxial epidermis, as well as abaxial and adaxial periclinal wall) were also investigated in expanding and fully expanded leaflets. Fully expanded leaflets from urban sites exhibited increased thickness of the lamina and the palisade parenchyma, while the thickness of the spongy parenchyma was thicker in suburban specimens. The palisade tissue was less extended than the spongy tissue in expanding leaflets, while the opposite held true for the expanded leaflets. Moreover, the thickness of the adaxial and the abaxial epidermises, as well as the adaxial and abaxial periclinal wall were higher in suburban leaflets. The chlorophyll content increased concomitantly with the specific leaf area (SLA) of both expanding and expanded leaflets, and strong positive correlations were detected, while the phenolic content declined with the increased SLA of expanding and expanded leaflets. It is noteworthy that the SLA of expanding leaflets in the suburban site was comparable to the SLA of expanded leaflets experiencing air pollution in urban sites; the size and the mass of leaf blades of <i>C. siliqua</i> possess adaptive features to air pollution. These results, linked to the functional structure of expanding and expanded successive foliar tissues, provide valuable assessment information coordinated with an adaptive process and yield of carob trees exposed to the considered ambient conditions, which have not hitherto been published. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:29:02Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:29:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-0a954fe71ba1407698375d5d51dd63f32023-11-16T17:43:28ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472023-01-0112351410.3390/plants12030514Structural and Physiological Traits of Compound Leaves of <i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> Trees Grown in Urban and Suburban Ambient ConditionsSophia Papadopoulou0Aikaterina L. Stefi1Maria-Sonia Meletiou-Christou2Nikolaos S. Christodoulakis3Dimitrios Gkikas4Sophia Rhizopoulou5Section of Botany, Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, GreeceSection of Botany, Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, GreeceSection of Botany, Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, GreeceSection of Botany, Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, GreeceSection of Botany, Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, GreeceSection of Botany, Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece<i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> L. (carob tree) is an endemic plant to the eastern Mediterranean region. In the present study, anatomical and physiological traits of successively grown compound leaves (i.e., the first, third, fifth and seventh leaves) of <i>C. siliqua</i> were investigated in an attempt to evaluate their growth under urban and suburban environmental conditions. Chlorophyll and phenolic content, as well as the specific leaf area of the compound leaves were determined. Structural traits of leaflets (i.e., thickness of palisade and spongy parenchyma, abaxial and adaxial epidermis, as well as abaxial and adaxial periclinal wall) were also investigated in expanding and fully expanded leaflets. Fully expanded leaflets from urban sites exhibited increased thickness of the lamina and the palisade parenchyma, while the thickness of the spongy parenchyma was thicker in suburban specimens. The palisade tissue was less extended than the spongy tissue in expanding leaflets, while the opposite held true for the expanded leaflets. Moreover, the thickness of the adaxial and the abaxial epidermises, as well as the adaxial and abaxial periclinal wall were higher in suburban leaflets. The chlorophyll content increased concomitantly with the specific leaf area (SLA) of both expanding and expanded leaflets, and strong positive correlations were detected, while the phenolic content declined with the increased SLA of expanding and expanded leaflets. It is noteworthy that the SLA of expanding leaflets in the suburban site was comparable to the SLA of expanded leaflets experiencing air pollution in urban sites; the size and the mass of leaf blades of <i>C. siliqua</i> possess adaptive features to air pollution. These results, linked to the functional structure of expanding and expanded successive foliar tissues, provide valuable assessment information coordinated with an adaptive process and yield of carob trees exposed to the considered ambient conditions, which have not hitherto been published.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/3/514anatomical traitschlorophyllsphenolicspollutionspecific leaf areawater deficiency |
| spellingShingle | Sophia Papadopoulou Aikaterina L. Stefi Maria-Sonia Meletiou-Christou Nikolaos S. Christodoulakis Dimitrios Gkikas Sophia Rhizopoulou Structural and Physiological Traits of Compound Leaves of <i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> Trees Grown in Urban and Suburban Ambient Conditions Plants anatomical traits chlorophylls phenolics pollution specific leaf area water deficiency |
| title | Structural and Physiological Traits of Compound Leaves of <i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> Trees Grown in Urban and Suburban Ambient Conditions |
| title_full | Structural and Physiological Traits of Compound Leaves of <i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> Trees Grown in Urban and Suburban Ambient Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Structural and Physiological Traits of Compound Leaves of <i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> Trees Grown in Urban and Suburban Ambient Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Structural and Physiological Traits of Compound Leaves of <i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> Trees Grown in Urban and Suburban Ambient Conditions |
| title_short | Structural and Physiological Traits of Compound Leaves of <i>Ceratonia siliqua</i> Trees Grown in Urban and Suburban Ambient Conditions |
| title_sort | structural and physiological traits of compound leaves of i ceratonia siliqua i trees grown in urban and suburban ambient conditions |
| topic | anatomical traits chlorophylls phenolics pollution specific leaf area water deficiency |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/3/514 |
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