Anatomical and Physiological Characteristics of Awn Development in <i>Elymus nutans</i>, an Important Forage Grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Awns are the important structures of inflorescence in many crops that belong to the Poaceae family. In addition, they actively participate in photosynthesis, transpiration, seed dispersal, and self-planting. The <i>Elymus nutans</i> Griseb. is an important, self-pollinated, allohexaploid...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | Agronomy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/3/862 |
| _version_ | 1827751836684124160 |
|---|---|
| author | Yongsen Qiu Wengang Xie |
| author_facet | Yongsen Qiu Wengang Xie |
| author_sort | Yongsen Qiu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Awns are the important structures of inflorescence in many crops that belong to the Poaceae family. In addition, they actively participate in photosynthesis, transpiration, seed dispersal, and self-planting. The <i>Elymus nutans</i> Griseb. is an important, self-pollinated, allohexaploid (2n = 6x = 42) and perennial native forage grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau that shows variation in awns length. However, the changes in the anatomical structure, physiological traits, and biochemical characteristics during awn development remain unclear in <i>E. nutans</i>. Therefore, this study investigated the changes in anatomical structures, enzymatic activities, and hormonal regulations of awns at four developmental stages, i.e., booting, heading, flowering, and maturity stages of three <i>E. nutans</i> accessions having different awn lengths. The results showed that the cross-sections of <i>E. nutans</i> awns had an acute triangular shape and structural similarities to wheat awns. In addition, the growth of long awns was recorded faster than short awns at the heading stage, but no significant differences in awns lengths were found at the heading, flowering, and maturity stages. The differences in the sizes of barbs and stomata of three accessions were statistically non-significant; however, the accession with long awns had more stomata than the accession with shorter awns at all developmental stages. In addition, the content of cytokinin (CTK), abscisic acid (ABA), and ethylene (ETH), and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were significantly related to the development of awn. At the flowering stage, the content of CTK, and activities of SOD and POD of long awn accession were significantly higher than the short awn accession. Therefore, the obtained results provide a sound basis for future research on the molecular mechanisms of awn development and their potential role in <i>E. nutans</i>. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:02:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-995b14a3288a4850afbb0b4bf1596c54 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:02:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-995b14a3288a4850afbb0b4bf1596c542023-11-17T09:07:17ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952023-03-0113386210.3390/agronomy13030862Anatomical and Physiological Characteristics of Awn Development in <i>Elymus nutans</i>, an Important Forage Grass in Qinghai-Tibet PlateauYongsen Qiu0Wengang Xie1State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, ChinaAwns are the important structures of inflorescence in many crops that belong to the Poaceae family. In addition, they actively participate in photosynthesis, transpiration, seed dispersal, and self-planting. The <i>Elymus nutans</i> Griseb. is an important, self-pollinated, allohexaploid (2n = 6x = 42) and perennial native forage grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau that shows variation in awns length. However, the changes in the anatomical structure, physiological traits, and biochemical characteristics during awn development remain unclear in <i>E. nutans</i>. Therefore, this study investigated the changes in anatomical structures, enzymatic activities, and hormonal regulations of awns at four developmental stages, i.e., booting, heading, flowering, and maturity stages of three <i>E. nutans</i> accessions having different awn lengths. The results showed that the cross-sections of <i>E. nutans</i> awns had an acute triangular shape and structural similarities to wheat awns. In addition, the growth of long awns was recorded faster than short awns at the heading stage, but no significant differences in awns lengths were found at the heading, flowering, and maturity stages. The differences in the sizes of barbs and stomata of three accessions were statistically non-significant; however, the accession with long awns had more stomata than the accession with shorter awns at all developmental stages. In addition, the content of cytokinin (CTK), abscisic acid (ABA), and ethylene (ETH), and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were significantly related to the development of awn. At the flowering stage, the content of CTK, and activities of SOD and POD of long awn accession were significantly higher than the short awn accession. Therefore, the obtained results provide a sound basis for future research on the molecular mechanisms of awn development and their potential role in <i>E. nutans</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/3/862awns<i>Elymus nutans</i>anatomical structurehormoneenzymeawn development |
| spellingShingle | Yongsen Qiu Wengang Xie Anatomical and Physiological Characteristics of Awn Development in <i>Elymus nutans</i>, an Important Forage Grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Agronomy awns <i>Elymus nutans</i> anatomical structure hormone enzyme awn development |
| title | Anatomical and Physiological Characteristics of Awn Development in <i>Elymus nutans</i>, an Important Forage Grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| title_full | Anatomical and Physiological Characteristics of Awn Development in <i>Elymus nutans</i>, an Important Forage Grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Anatomical and Physiological Characteristics of Awn Development in <i>Elymus nutans</i>, an Important Forage Grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anatomical and Physiological Characteristics of Awn Development in <i>Elymus nutans</i>, an Important Forage Grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| title_short | Anatomical and Physiological Characteristics of Awn Development in <i>Elymus nutans</i>, an Important Forage Grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| title_sort | anatomical and physiological characteristics of awn development in i elymus nutans i an important forage grass in qinghai tibet plateau |
| topic | awns <i>Elymus nutans</i> anatomical structure hormone enzyme awn development |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/3/862 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yongsenqiu anatomicalandphysiologicalcharacteristicsofawndevelopmentinielymusnutansianimportantforagegrassinqinghaitibetplateau AT wengangxie anatomicalandphysiologicalcharacteristicsofawndevelopmentinielymusnutansianimportantforagegrassinqinghaitibetplateau |