Root-shoot communication in contrasting Lycopersicon genotypes under stress caused by water deficit. / Sinalização entre os sistemas radiculares e caulinares em genótipos contrastantes de Lycopersicon sob estresse por deficiência hídrica.

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2004

RESUMO

Multicellular plants are complex organisms and their orderly development requires an extraordinary measure of coordination between cells. In order to coordinate their activities, cells must be able to communicate with each other, often at some distance. The principal means of intercellular communication are the hormones, chemical messengers that carry information between cells and thus coordinate their growth and development. Abscisic acid (ABA) is the hormone involved in physiological processes when plants are exposed to some sort of stress: water deficiency, for example. Relatively large amounts of ABA are rapidly synthesized in leaves in response to water stress, where it appears to play a major role in regulating stomatal opening and closure. As water stress begins, some of the ABA carried out by the xylem stream is synthesized in roots that are in direct contact with the drying soil. Because this transport can occur before the low water potential of the soil causes any measurable change in the water status of the leaves, ABA is believed to be a root signal that helps reduce the transpiration rate in the leaves by closing stomata. The main objective of the work was to determine if ABA synthesized in the roots of Lycopersicon esculentum is crucial in regulation stomata behavior or ABA produced by the leaves could act as hormone signal to improve plant survival under water shortage conditions. In a similar way, Lycopersicon pennellii, a water stress tolerant specie, was studied in order to determine the possible role of chemical root signals or any other mechanism. For that, 30 d-old plants obtained from seeds of L. esculentum cv Lukullus, L. pennellii and a mutant named notabilis were grafted to each other and grown in greenhouse conditions. Two months later, measurements of stomatal conductance, transpiration and leaf water potential were carried out. These measurements were done under three soil water conditions: plenty, stress and reirrigation. The values of stomatal conductance and transpiration showed that stomatal behavior was influenced by the genotype of the aerial part of grafted plants. It was also verified that the drought tolerance of L. pennellii was not only determined by morpho-anatomical characteristics of plant shoot.

ASSUNTO(S)

stress tolerance receprocal frafts stomatal control transpiration morfologia vegetal deficiência hídrica hormônio vegetal tolerância a seca abscisic acid ácido abscísico stomatal condutance estresse vegetal tomate genótipo

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