Climate and Competitive Status Modulate the Variation in Secondary Metabolites More in Leaves Than in Fine Roots of Betula pendula
Plant secondary metabolites have many important functions; they also determine the productivity and resilience of trees under climate change. The effects of environmental factors on secondary metabolites are much better understood in above-ground than in below-ground part of the tree. Competition is...
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2021
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6d25f31d17d7465384c9720e55f527dd 2023-05-15T16:11:49+02:00 Climate and Competitive Status Modulate the Variation in Secondary Metabolites More in Leaves Than in Fine Roots of Betula pendula Arvo Tullus Linda Rusalepp Reimo Lutter Katrin Rosenvald Ants Kaasik Lars Rytter Sari Kontunen-Soppela Elina Oksanen 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.746165 https://doaj.org/article/6d25f31d17d7465384c9720e55f527dd EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.746165/full https://doaj.org/toc/1664-462X 1664-462X doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.746165 https://doaj.org/article/6d25f31d17d7465384c9720e55f527dd Frontiers in Plant Science, Vol 12 (2021) climate intraspecific competition Fennoscandia fine roots leaf chemistry plant phenolics Plant culture SB1-1110 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.746165 2022-12-31T09:20:59Z Plant secondary metabolites have many important functions; they also determine the productivity and resilience of trees under climate change. The effects of environmental factors on secondary metabolites are much better understood in above-ground than in below-ground part of the tree. Competition is a crucial biotic stress factor, but little is known about the interaction effect of climate and competition on the secondary chemistry of trees. Moreover, competition effect is usually overlooked when analyzing the sources of variation in the secondary chemistry. Our aim was to clarify the effects of competitive status, within-crown light environment, and climate on the secondary chemistry of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth). We sampled leaves (from upper and lower crown) and fine roots from competitively dominant and suppressed B. pendula trees in plantations along a latitudinal gradient (56–67° N) in Fennoscandia, with mean annual temperature (MAT) range: −1 to 8°C. Secondary metabolites in leaves (SML) and fine roots (SMFR) were determined with an HPLC-qTOF mass spectrometer. We found that SML content increased significantly with MAT. The effect of competitive stress on SML strengthened in colder climates (MAT<4°C). Competition and shade initiated a few similar responses in SML. SMFR varied less with MAT. Suppressed trees allocated relatively more resources to SML in warmer climates and to SMFR in colder ones. Our study revealed that the content and profile of secondary metabolites (mostly phenolic defense compounds and growth regulators) in leaves of B. pendula varied with climate and reflected the trees’ defense requirements against herbivory, exposure to irradiance, and competitive status (resource supply). The metabolic profile of fine roots reflected, besides defense requirements, also different below-ground competition strategies in warmer and colder climates. An increase in carbon assimilation to secondary compounds can be expected at northern latitudes due to climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Fennoscandia Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Plant Science 12 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
climate intraspecific competition Fennoscandia fine roots leaf chemistry plant phenolics Plant culture SB1-1110 |
spellingShingle |
climate intraspecific competition Fennoscandia fine roots leaf chemistry plant phenolics Plant culture SB1-1110 Arvo Tullus Linda Rusalepp Reimo Lutter Katrin Rosenvald Ants Kaasik Lars Rytter Sari Kontunen-Soppela Elina Oksanen Climate and Competitive Status Modulate the Variation in Secondary Metabolites More in Leaves Than in Fine Roots of Betula pendula |
topic_facet |
climate intraspecific competition Fennoscandia fine roots leaf chemistry plant phenolics Plant culture SB1-1110 |
description |
Plant secondary metabolites have many important functions; they also determine the productivity and resilience of trees under climate change. The effects of environmental factors on secondary metabolites are much better understood in above-ground than in below-ground part of the tree. Competition is a crucial biotic stress factor, but little is known about the interaction effect of climate and competition on the secondary chemistry of trees. Moreover, competition effect is usually overlooked when analyzing the sources of variation in the secondary chemistry. Our aim was to clarify the effects of competitive status, within-crown light environment, and climate on the secondary chemistry of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth). We sampled leaves (from upper and lower crown) and fine roots from competitively dominant and suppressed B. pendula trees in plantations along a latitudinal gradient (56–67° N) in Fennoscandia, with mean annual temperature (MAT) range: −1 to 8°C. Secondary metabolites in leaves (SML) and fine roots (SMFR) were determined with an HPLC-qTOF mass spectrometer. We found that SML content increased significantly with MAT. The effect of competitive stress on SML strengthened in colder climates (MAT<4°C). Competition and shade initiated a few similar responses in SML. SMFR varied less with MAT. Suppressed trees allocated relatively more resources to SML in warmer climates and to SMFR in colder ones. Our study revealed that the content and profile of secondary metabolites (mostly phenolic defense compounds and growth regulators) in leaves of B. pendula varied with climate and reflected the trees’ defense requirements against herbivory, exposure to irradiance, and competitive status (resource supply). The metabolic profile of fine roots reflected, besides defense requirements, also different below-ground competition strategies in warmer and colder climates. An increase in carbon assimilation to secondary compounds can be expected at northern latitudes due to climate change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Arvo Tullus Linda Rusalepp Reimo Lutter Katrin Rosenvald Ants Kaasik Lars Rytter Sari Kontunen-Soppela Elina Oksanen |
author_facet |
Arvo Tullus Linda Rusalepp Reimo Lutter Katrin Rosenvald Ants Kaasik Lars Rytter Sari Kontunen-Soppela Elina Oksanen |
author_sort |
Arvo Tullus |
title |
Climate and Competitive Status Modulate the Variation in Secondary Metabolites More in Leaves Than in Fine Roots of Betula pendula |
title_short |
Climate and Competitive Status Modulate the Variation in Secondary Metabolites More in Leaves Than in Fine Roots of Betula pendula |
title_full |
Climate and Competitive Status Modulate the Variation in Secondary Metabolites More in Leaves Than in Fine Roots of Betula pendula |
title_fullStr |
Climate and Competitive Status Modulate the Variation in Secondary Metabolites More in Leaves Than in Fine Roots of Betula pendula |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate and Competitive Status Modulate the Variation in Secondary Metabolites More in Leaves Than in Fine Roots of Betula pendula |
title_sort |
climate and competitive status modulate the variation in secondary metabolites more in leaves than in fine roots of betula pendula |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.746165 https://doaj.org/article/6d25f31d17d7465384c9720e55f527dd |
genre |
Fennoscandia |
genre_facet |
Fennoscandia |
op_source |
Frontiers in Plant Science, Vol 12 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.746165/full https://doaj.org/toc/1664-462X 1664-462X doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.746165 https://doaj.org/article/6d25f31d17d7465384c9720e55f527dd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.746165 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Plant Science |
container_volume |
12 |
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1765997019881537536 |