Fine-root and leaf acquisitive traits decoupled from chloride accumulation in reflecting the differential salinity tolerance among Prunus hybrids

Improving crop salinity management requires enhanced understanding of salinity responses of leaf and fine-root traits governing resource acquisition, ideally in relation to ion accumulation at intra- or inter-specific levels. We hypothesized that these responses are coupled towards integrated resour...

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Main Authors: Shuangxi Zhou, Rob R. Walker, Everard J. Edwards
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1502201/full
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author Shuangxi Zhou
Rob R. Walker
Everard J. Edwards
author_facet Shuangxi Zhou
Rob R. Walker
Everard J. Edwards
author_sort Shuangxi Zhou
collection DOAJ
description Improving crop salinity management requires enhanced understanding of salinity responses of leaf and fine-root traits governing resource acquisition, ideally in relation to ion accumulation at intra- or inter-specific levels. We hypothesized that these responses are coupled towards integrated resource conservation for plants under prolonged salt treatment. We tested the hypothesis with a glasshouse experiment on saplings of six contrasting Prunus hybrids, subjected to either control or salt treatment (reverse osmosis water versus 3.3 dS m-1 chloride solution containing mixed cations). Sample collections were carried out at 30 and at 60 days after the start of treatments. All six hybrids showed significantly higher lamina chloride concentration in response to salt treatment, with GF677 accumulating a lower concentration than the other five hybrids. There was significantly lower specific leaf area (SLA) in ‘Monegro’ and lower root tissue density (RTD) in ‘Nemaguard’ after 60 days – but not 30 days – of salt treatment. No hybrid showed concurrent significant decrease of SLA and specific root surface area (SRA) under salt treatment. The a priori known salinity-sensitive hybrid ‘Nemaguard’ not only showed decreased RTD and a negative relationship between root biomass and salt treatment duration, but also showed increased SRA without notable change of average root diameter. Lamina chloride accumulation and leaf gas exchange response were closely correlated along a gradient towards resource conservation from control to salt-treated plants in all hybrids, which was orthogonal to another gradient characterized by a hybrid-dependent modification of SLA, SRA, RTD and percentage of root length within the finest diameter class. This study highlighted the intraspecific differential resource investment strategies, reflected by the hybrid-specific salinity-response coordination among leaf and fine-root acquisitive traits.
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spelling doaj-art-dd374bdf36cc450abf08efe52ef478222025-01-08T04:10:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-01-011510.3389/fpls.2024.15022011502201Fine-root and leaf acquisitive traits decoupled from chloride accumulation in reflecting the differential salinity tolerance among Prunus hybridsShuangxi ZhouRob R. WalkerEverard J. EdwardsImproving crop salinity management requires enhanced understanding of salinity responses of leaf and fine-root traits governing resource acquisition, ideally in relation to ion accumulation at intra- or inter-specific levels. We hypothesized that these responses are coupled towards integrated resource conservation for plants under prolonged salt treatment. We tested the hypothesis with a glasshouse experiment on saplings of six contrasting Prunus hybrids, subjected to either control or salt treatment (reverse osmosis water versus 3.3 dS m-1 chloride solution containing mixed cations). Sample collections were carried out at 30 and at 60 days after the start of treatments. All six hybrids showed significantly higher lamina chloride concentration in response to salt treatment, with GF677 accumulating a lower concentration than the other five hybrids. There was significantly lower specific leaf area (SLA) in ‘Monegro’ and lower root tissue density (RTD) in ‘Nemaguard’ after 60 days – but not 30 days – of salt treatment. No hybrid showed concurrent significant decrease of SLA and specific root surface area (SRA) under salt treatment. The a priori known salinity-sensitive hybrid ‘Nemaguard’ not only showed decreased RTD and a negative relationship between root biomass and salt treatment duration, but also showed increased SRA without notable change of average root diameter. Lamina chloride accumulation and leaf gas exchange response were closely correlated along a gradient towards resource conservation from control to salt-treated plants in all hybrids, which was orthogonal to another gradient characterized by a hybrid-dependent modification of SLA, SRA, RTD and percentage of root length within the finest diameter class. This study highlighted the intraspecific differential resource investment strategies, reflected by the hybrid-specific salinity-response coordination among leaf and fine-root acquisitive traits.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1502201/fullacquisition-conservation trade-offalmond rootstockion accumulationroot distributionroot morphologysalt stress
spellingShingle Shuangxi Zhou
Rob R. Walker
Everard J. Edwards
Fine-root and leaf acquisitive traits decoupled from chloride accumulation in reflecting the differential salinity tolerance among Prunus hybrids
Frontiers in Plant Science
acquisition-conservation trade-off
almond rootstock
ion accumulation
root distribution
root morphology
salt stress
title Fine-root and leaf acquisitive traits decoupled from chloride accumulation in reflecting the differential salinity tolerance among Prunus hybrids
title_full Fine-root and leaf acquisitive traits decoupled from chloride accumulation in reflecting the differential salinity tolerance among Prunus hybrids
title_fullStr Fine-root and leaf acquisitive traits decoupled from chloride accumulation in reflecting the differential salinity tolerance among Prunus hybrids
title_full_unstemmed Fine-root and leaf acquisitive traits decoupled from chloride accumulation in reflecting the differential salinity tolerance among Prunus hybrids
title_short Fine-root and leaf acquisitive traits decoupled from chloride accumulation in reflecting the differential salinity tolerance among Prunus hybrids
title_sort fine root and leaf acquisitive traits decoupled from chloride accumulation in reflecting the differential salinity tolerance among prunus hybrids
topic acquisition-conservation trade-off
almond rootstock
ion accumulation
root distribution
root morphology
salt stress
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1502201/full
work_keys_str_mv AT shuangxizhou finerootandleafacquisitivetraitsdecoupledfromchlorideaccumulationinreflectingthedifferentialsalinitytoleranceamongprunushybrids
AT robrwalker finerootandleafacquisitivetraitsdecoupledfromchlorideaccumulationinreflectingthedifferentialsalinitytoleranceamongprunushybrids
AT everardjedwards finerootandleafacquisitivetraitsdecoupledfromchlorideaccumulationinreflectingthedifferentialsalinitytoleranceamongprunushybrids