Can sugar metabolism in the cambial region explain the water deficit tolerance in poplar?

Drought dramatically affects wood production by adversely impacting cambial cells and their derivatives. Photosynthesis and assimilate transport are also affected by drought conditions. Two poplar genotypes, Populus deltoides 'Dvina' and Populus alba 'Marte', demonstrated contras...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Experimental Botany
Main Authors: Traversari, Silvia, Francini, Alessandra, Traversi, Maria Laura, Emiliani, Giovanni, Sorce, Carlo, Sebastiani, Luca, Giovannelli, Alessio
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11382/523739
https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ery195
http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/
Description
Summary:Drought dramatically affects wood production by adversely impacting cambial cells and their derivatives. Photosynthesis and assimilate transport are also affected by drought conditions. Two poplar genotypes, Populus deltoides 'Dvina' and Populus alba 'Marte', demonstrated contrasting growth performance and water-carbon balance strategies; a mechanistic understanding of the water deficit response was provided by these poplar species. 'Marte' was found to be more anisohydric than 'Dvina'. This characteristic was associated with the capacity to reallocate carbohydrates during water deficits. In contrast, 'Dvina' displayed more conservative water management; carbohydrates were preferably stored or used for cellulose production rather than to achieve an osmotic balance between the phloem and the xylem. Data confirmed that the more 'risk-taking' characteristic of 'Marte' allowed a rapid recovery following water deficit and was connected to a different carbohydrate metabolism.