Morpho-anatomical, physiological and biochemical adjustments in response to root zone salinity stress and high solar radiation in two Mediterranean evergreen shrubs, Myrtus communis and Pistacia lentiscus

$\bullet$Salt- and light-induced changes in morpho-anatomical, physiological and biochemical traits were analysed in Myrtus communis and Pistacia lentiscus with a view to explaining their ecological distribution in the Mediterranean basin.$\bullet$In plants exposed to 20 or 100% solar radiation and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New phytologist 2006-01, Vol.170 (4), p.779-794
Main Authors: Tattini, Massimiliano, Remorini, Damiano, Pinelli, Patrizia, Agati, Giovanni, Saracini, Erica, Traversi, Maria Laura, Massai, Rossano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Carbon - metabolism
cations
flavonoid glycosides
Flavonoids
Flavonoids - metabolism
fluorescence spectroscopy
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
gas exchange
gas exchange and photosynthetic performance
hydrolysable tannins
ionic and water relations
leaf morpho‐anatomy and leaf optics
Leaves
Light
Lipid Peroxidation
Myrtus - anatomy & histology
Myrtus - metabolism
Myrtus - physiology
Myrtus communis
photochemical efficiency of photosystem II
photosynthesis
Photosynthesis - physiology
Photosystem II Protein Complex - physiology
physiological response
Pistacia - anatomy & histology
Pistacia - metabolism
Pistacia - physiology
Pistacia lentiscus
plant anatomy
plant biochemistry
plant growth
Plant Leaves - anatomy & histology
Plant Leaves - metabolism
Plant Leaves - physiology
plant morphology
plant physiology
Plant physiology and development
plant response
Plant Roots - anatomy & histology
Plant Roots - metabolism
Plant Roots - physiology
Plants
Plants and fungi
Polyphenols
Rhizosphere
Salinity
salt stress
shrubs
Sodium Chloride - pharmacology
Soil salinity
Solar radiation
Species Specificity
Tannins
Tannins - metabolism
turgor
Water - metabolism
Water and solutes. Absorption, translocation and permeability
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Summary:$\bullet$Salt- and light-induced changes in morpho-anatomical, physiological and biochemical traits were analysed in Myrtus communis and Pistacia lentiscus with a view to explaining their ecological distribution in the Mediterranean basin.$\bullet$In plants exposed to 20 or 100% solar radiation and supplied with 0 or 200 mM NaCl, measurements were conducted for ionic and water relations and photosynthetic performance, leaf morpho-anatomical and optical properties and tissue-specific accumulation of tannins and flavonoids.$\bullet$Net carbon gain and photosystem II (PSII) efficiency decreased less in P. lentiscus than in M. communis when exposed to salinity stress, the former having a superior ability to use Na+and Cl-for osmotic adjustment. Morpho-anatomical traits also allowed P. lentiscus to protect sensitive targets in the leaf from the combined action of salinity stress and high solar radiation to a greater degree than M. communis. Salt and light-induced increases in carbon allocated to polyphenols, particularly to flavonoids, were greater in M. communis than in P. lentiscus, and appeared to be related to leaf oxidative damage.$\bullet$Our data may conclusively explain the negligible distribution of M. communis in open Mediterranean areas suffering from salinity stress, and suggest a key antioxidant function of flavonoids in response to different stressful conditions.
ISSN:0028-646X
1469-8137
DOI:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01723.x