Serpentine tolerance in Mimulus guttatus does not rely on exclusion of magnesium
Emily Palm A C , Kristy Brady A and Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Biology, University of Washington, Box 351800, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
B Department of Biology, University of Washington, Box 351330, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
C Corresponding author. Email: eniniane@uw.edu
Functional Plant Biology 39(8) 679-688 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP12059
Submitted: 23 February 2012 Accepted: 13 June 2012 Published: 9 August 2012
Abstract
The effect of serpentine soil-like low Ca : Mg ratios on growth was investigated in serpentine-adapted and nonadapted populations of Mimulus guttatus Fischer ex DC through soil and hydroponic reciprocal transplants. Adaptation to Ca : Mg ratios in M. guttatus was measured as differences in biomass accumulation, uptake of Ca and Mg, and photosynthetic rates. Serpentine-adapted plants persisted on both serpentine and nonserpentine soils, but nonadapted plants survived only on nonserpentine soil. When grown hydroponically, a low Ca : Mg ratio decreased the biomass of nonadapted plants but serpentine-adapted plants increased in biomass relative to their growth on high Ca : Mg. Internal concentrations of Ca and Mg mirrored those of the growth solution in both populations; however, serpentine-adapted M. guttatus had a higher shoot : root ratio of Mg when grown in low Ca : Mg solutions. Elevated Mg reduced photosynthetic rates in nonadapted plants without changes in chlorophyll concentration or photosystem efficiency. Hydroponic culture isolated the Ca : Mg ratio from other soil characteristics as the dominant factor affecting growth. Differences in the growth of plants from these populations in reciprocal transplant experiments indicate a genetic basis for a tolerance mechanism to low Ca : Mg, but one that is not based on the exclusion of Mg.
Additional keywords: abiotic factors, Ca : Mg ratio, calcium.
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