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...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jonas Van Laere, Roel Merckx, Rebecca Hood-Nowotny, Gerd Dercon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-10-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1222558/full
_version_ 1797660681382658048
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.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T18:34:24Z
format Article
id doaj.art-e4edf31e7cdb434fa30161e8a8c26f41
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1664-462X
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T18:34:24Z
publishDate 2023-10-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
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
work_keys_str_mv AT jonasvanlaere waterdeficitandpotassiumaffectcarbonisotopecompositionincassavabulkleafmaterialandextractedcarbohydrates
AT jonasvanlaere waterdeficitandpotassiumaffectcarbonisotopecompositionincassavabulkleafmaterialandextractedcarbohydrates
AT jonasvanlaere waterdeficitandpotassiumaffectcarbonisotopecompositionincassavabulkleafmaterialandextractedcarbohydrates
AT roelmerckx waterdeficitandpotassiumaffectcarbonisotopecompositionincassavabulkleafmaterialandextractedcarbohydrates
AT rebeccahoodnowotny waterdeficitandpotassiumaffectcarbonisotopecompositionincassavabulkleafmaterialandextractedcarbohydrates
AT gerddercon waterdeficitandpotassiumaffectcarbonisotopecompositionincassavabulkleafmaterialandextractedcarbohydrates