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Reinecke A, Flaig IC, Lozano YM, Rillig MC, Hilker M. Drought induces moderate, diverse changes in the odour of grassland species. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2024; 221:114040. [PMID: 38428627 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2024.114040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Plants react to drought stress with numerous changes including altered emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from leaves, which provide protection against oxidative tissue damage and mediate numerous biotic interactions. Despite the share of grasslands in the terrestrial biosphere, their importance as carbon sinks and their contribution to global biodiversity, little is known about the influence of drought on VOC profiles of grassland species. Using coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, we analysed the odorants emitted by 22 European grassland species exposed to an eight-week-lasting drought treatment (DT; 30% water holding capacity, WHC). We focused on the odorants emitted during the light phase from whole plant shoots in their vegetative stage. Emission rates were standardised to the dry weight of each shoot. Well-watered (WW) plants (70% WHC) served as control. Drought-induced significant changes included an increase in total emission rates of plant VOC in six and a decrease in three species. Diverging effects on the number of emitted VOC (chemical richness) or on the Shannon diversity of the VOC profiles were detected in 13 species. Biosynthetic pathways-targeted analyses revealed 13 species showing drought-induced higher emission rates of VOC from one, two, three, or four major biosynthetic pathways (lipoxygenase, shikimate, mevalonate and methylerythritol phosphate pathway), while six species exhibited reduced emission rates from one or two of these pathways. Similarity trees of odorant profiles and their drought-induced changes based on a biosynthetically informed distance metric did not match species phylogeny. However, a phylogenetic signal was detected for the amount of terpenoids released by the studied species under WW and DT conditions. A comparative analysis of emission rates of single compounds released by WW and DT plants revealed significant VOC profile dissimilarities in four species only. The moderate drought-induced changes in the odorant emissions of grassland species are discussed with respect to their impact on trophic interactions across the food web. (294 words).
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Reinecke
- Freie Universität Berlin, Inst. of Biology, Applied Zoology/Animal Ecology, Haderslebener Str. 9, 12163, Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Altensteinstr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Isabelle C Flaig
- Freie Universität Berlin, Inst. of Biology, Applied Zoology/Animal Ecology, Haderslebener Str. 9, 12163, Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Altensteinstr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Yudi M Lozano
- Freie Universität Berlin, Inst. of Biology, Plant Ecology, Altensteinstr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Altensteinstr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Matthias C Rillig
- Freie Universität Berlin, Inst. of Biology, Plant Ecology, Altensteinstr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Altensteinstr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Monika Hilker
- Freie Universität Berlin, Inst. of Biology, Applied Zoology/Animal Ecology, Haderslebener Str. 9, 12163, Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Altensteinstr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
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Nepal S, Trunschke J, Ren ZX, Burgess KS, Wang H. Flowering phenology differs among wet and dry sub-alpine meadows in southwestern China. AOB PLANTS 2024; 16:plae002. [PMID: 38298756 PMCID: PMC10829081 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plae002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
The effect of floral traits, floral rewards and plant water availability on plant-pollinator interactions are well-documented; however, empirical evidence of their impact on flowering phenology in high-elevation meadows remains scarce. In this study, we assessed three levels of flowering phenology, i.e. population-, individual- and flower-level (floral longevity), in two nearby but contrasting (wet versus dry) sub-alpine meadows on Yulong Snow Mountain, southwestern China. We also measured a series of floral traits (pollen number, ovule number, and the ratio of pollen to ovule number per flower, i.e. pollen:ovule ratio [P/O]) and floral rewards (nectar availability and pollen presentation) as plausible additional sources of variation for each phenological level. Floral longevity in the wet meadow was significantly longer than that for the dry meadow, whereas population- and individual-flowering duration were significantly shorter. Our results showed a significant positive relationship between flowering phenology with pollen number and P/O per flower; there was no relationship with ovule number per flower. Further, we found a significant effect of flowering phenology on nectar availability and pollen presentation. Our findings suggest that shorter floral longevity in dry habitats compared to wet might be due to water-dependent maintenance costs of flowers, where the population- and individual-level flowering phenology may be less affected by habitats. Our study shows how different levels of flowering phenology underscore the plausible effects of contrasting habitats on reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shristhi Nepal
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Kunming 650201, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1 Yanqihu East Rd, Huairou District, Beijing 101408, China
| | - Judith Trunschke
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Kunming 650201, China
- Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str., 479106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Zong-Xin Ren
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Kunming 650201, China
| | - Kevin S Burgess
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Mercer University School of Medicine, Columbus, GA 31901, USA
| | - Hong Wang
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Kunming 650201, China
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