Phloem as a possible major determinant of rapid cavitation reversal in stems of Laurus nobilis (laurel)
Sebastiano Salleo A , Patrizia Trifilò B and Maria A. Lo Gullo B CA Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Trieste, via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, Italy.
B Dipartimento di Scienze Botaniche, Università di Messina, Salita Sperone 31, 98166 Messina S. Agata, Italy.
C Corresponding author. Email: mlogullo@unime.it
Functional Plant Biology 33(11) 1063-1074 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP06149
Submitted: 14 June 2006 Accepted: 18 September 2006 Published: 1 November 2006
Abstract
Xylem recovery from embolism was studied in stems of Laurus nobilis L. that were induced to cavitate by combining negative xylem pressures with positive air pressures applied with a pressure collar. Xylem refilling was measured 2 and 20 min and 15 h after air pressure release in January, March and June when increasing percentages of wood parenchyma cells with high starch content (HSC-VAC) were counted (from 0% in January to 87.3% in June). In January, no xylem repair was measured. In June, stems refilled by 75% of previous conductivity loss with a parallel decrease of HSC-VAC. Xylem refilling was tested for stems with phloem either intact or excised by 20 and 50% and with phloem inactivated by girdling stems at both sides of the embolised segment. Stems with 50% of the cortex removed showed some recovery 15 h after embolism. Girdled stems did not recover from embolism and no starch depolymerisation was measured. Girdled stems where a radial mechanical pressure was applied for 20 min after embolism refilled in the same way as stems with intact phloem. Our conclusion is that phloem may export some signal for starch depolymerisation and this, in turn, would drive sugar efflux into embolised conduits with consequent osmotic water flows and refilling.
Keywords: cavitation, laurel, phloem, starch depolymerisation, xylem refilling.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the University of Messina (individual research funds 2004).
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