Water deficit and potassium affect carbon isotope composition in cassava bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydrates
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important root crop, which despite its drought tolerance suffers considerable yield losses under water deficit. One strategy to increase crop yields under water deficit is improving the crop’s transpiration efficiency, which could be achieved by variety selec...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-10-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1222558/full |
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author | Jonas Van Laere Jonas Van Laere Jonas Van Laere Roel Merckx Rebecca Hood-Nowotny Gerd Dercon |
author_facet | Jonas Van Laere Jonas Van Laere Jonas Van Laere Roel Merckx Rebecca Hood-Nowotny Gerd Dercon |
author_sort | Jonas Van Laere |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important root crop, which despite its drought tolerance suffers considerable yield losses under water deficit. One strategy to increase crop yields under water deficit is improving the crop’s transpiration efficiency, which could be achieved by variety selection and potassium application. We assessed carbon isotope composition in bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydrates (soluble sugar, starch, and cellulose) of selected leaves one month after inducing water deficit to estimate transpiration efficiency and storage root biomass under varying conditions in a greenhouse experiment. A local and improved variety were grown in sand, supplied with nutrient solution with two potassium levels (1.44 vs. 0.04 mM K+) and were subjected to water deficit five months after planting. Potassium application and selection of the improved variety both increased transpiration efficiency of the roots with 58% and 85% respectively. Only in the improved variety were 13C ratios affected by potassium application (up to - 1.8‰ in δ13C of soluble sugar) and water deficit (up to + 0.6‰ in δ13C of starch and soluble sugar). These data revealed a shift in substrate away from transitory starch for cellulose synthesis in young leaves of the improved variety under potassium deficit. Bulk δ13C of leaves that had fully developed prior to water deficit were the best proxies for storage root biomass (r = - 0.62, r = - 0.70) and transpiration efficiency (r = - 0.68, r = - 0.58) for the local and improved variety respectively, making laborious extractions redundant. Results obtained from the youngest fully developed leaf, commonly used as a diagnostic leaf, were complicated by remobilized assimilates in the improved variety, making them less suitable for carbon isotope analysis. This study highlights the potential of carbon isotope composition to assess transpiration efficiency and yield, depending on the chosen sampling strategy as well as to unravel carbon allocation processes. |
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issn | 1664-462X |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:34:24Z |
publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
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series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
spelling | doaj.art-e4edf31e7cdb434fa30161e8a8c26f412023-10-13T07:13:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2023-10-011410.3389/fpls.2023.12225581222558Water deficit and potassium affect carbon isotope composition in cassava bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydratesJonas Van Laere0Jonas Van Laere1Jonas Van Laere2Roel Merckx3Rebecca Hood-Nowotny4Gerd Dercon5Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, AustriaDivision of Soil and Water Management, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Heverlee, BelgiumInstitute of Soil Research, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Vienna, AustriaDivision of Soil and Water Management, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Heverlee, BelgiumInstitute of Soil Research, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Vienna, AustriaSoil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, AustriaCassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important root crop, which despite its drought tolerance suffers considerable yield losses under water deficit. One strategy to increase crop yields under water deficit is improving the crop’s transpiration efficiency, which could be achieved by variety selection and potassium application. We assessed carbon isotope composition in bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydrates (soluble sugar, starch, and cellulose) of selected leaves one month after inducing water deficit to estimate transpiration efficiency and storage root biomass under varying conditions in a greenhouse experiment. A local and improved variety were grown in sand, supplied with nutrient solution with two potassium levels (1.44 vs. 0.04 mM K+) and were subjected to water deficit five months after planting. Potassium application and selection of the improved variety both increased transpiration efficiency of the roots with 58% and 85% respectively. Only in the improved variety were 13C ratios affected by potassium application (up to - 1.8‰ in δ13C of soluble sugar) and water deficit (up to + 0.6‰ in δ13C of starch and soluble sugar). These data revealed a shift in substrate away from transitory starch for cellulose synthesis in young leaves of the improved variety under potassium deficit. Bulk δ13C of leaves that had fully developed prior to water deficit were the best proxies for storage root biomass (r = - 0.62, r = - 0.70) and transpiration efficiency (r = - 0.68, r = - 0.58) for the local and improved variety respectively, making laborious extractions redundant. Results obtained from the youngest fully developed leaf, commonly used as a diagnostic leaf, were complicated by remobilized assimilates in the improved variety, making them less suitable for carbon isotope analysis. This study highlights the potential of carbon isotope composition to assess transpiration efficiency and yield, depending on the chosen sampling strategy as well as to unravel carbon allocation processes.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1222558/fullcarbon isotope discriminationcellulosedroughtManihot esculenta Crantznutrient stresssoluble sugar |
spellingShingle | Jonas Van Laere Jonas Van Laere Jonas Van Laere Roel Merckx Rebecca Hood-Nowotny Gerd Dercon Water deficit and potassium affect carbon isotope composition in cassava bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydrates Frontiers in Plant Science carbon isotope discrimination cellulose drought Manihot esculenta Crantz nutrient stress soluble sugar |
title | Water deficit and potassium affect carbon isotope composition in cassava bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydrates |
title_full | Water deficit and potassium affect carbon isotope composition in cassava bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydrates |
title_fullStr | Water deficit and potassium affect carbon isotope composition in cassava bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydrates |
title_full_unstemmed | Water deficit and potassium affect carbon isotope composition in cassava bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydrates |
title_short | Water deficit and potassium affect carbon isotope composition in cassava bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydrates |
title_sort | water deficit and potassium affect carbon isotope composition in cassava bulk leaf material and extracted carbohydrates |
topic | carbon isotope discrimination cellulose drought Manihot esculenta Crantz nutrient stress soluble sugar |
url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1222558/full |
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