Abstract
Plants must maintain a balance between their carbon (C) supply and utilization during the day–night cycle for continuous growth since C starvation often causes irreversible damage to crop production. It is not well known how C fixation and allocation in the leaves of crops such as maize adapt to sudden environmental changes. Here, to quantify primary C fixation and partitioning in photosynthetic maize leaves under extended darkness and to relate these factors to plant growth, maize seedlings were subjected to extended darkness (ED) for three successive days at the 6th leaf fully expanded stage (V6). ED reduced plant growth and leaf chlorophyll levels but not the rate of net CO2 exchange. As a result of the reduction in photoassimilates, the accumulation of starch and total soluble carbohydrates (TSC) in mature leaves also decreased under ED. However, the percentage of the daily C fixation reserved in mature leaves increased. These transient C pools were largely composed of TSC and were mainly used for consumption by increased nocturnal respiration rather than for transport. As the days went on, both the amount of C accumulated and the percentage of the daily fixed C that was reserved in leaves decreased, which could be largely accounted for by the attenuated starch synthesis in all treatments. The activities of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and soluble starch synthase decreased significantly over time. Therefore, this study concluded that both starch and TSC are involved in the coordination of the C supply and plant growth under a sudden C shortage but that they may be involved in different ways. While the ratio of reserved C to daily fixed C increased to maintain blade function under acute C starvation, both the amount and the proportion of C reserved in mature leaves decreased as plant growth continued in order to meet the growth demands of the plant.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Extended darkness reduced maize plant growth.
Zea maysNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“ED reduced plant growth and leaf chlorophyll levels but not the rate of net CO2 exchange.”
t0“maize leaves”
Claim · model-written summary
Extended darkness reduced maize leaf chlorophyll levels.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“ED reduced plant growth and leaf chlorophyll levels but not the rate of net CO2 exchange.”
t0“maize leaves”
Claim · model-written summary
Extended darkness did not change the net CO2 exchange rate.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“ED reduced plant growth and leaf chlorophyll levels but not the rate of net CO2 exchange.”
t0“maize leaves”
Claim · model-written summary
Extended darkness decreased starch accumulation in mature maize leaves.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the accumulation of starch and total soluble carbohydrates (TSC) in mature leaves also decreased under ED.”
t0“maize leaves”
Claim · model-written summary
Extended darkness decreased total soluble carbohydrate accumulation in mature maize leaves.
- Organ / stage
- mature leavese0
- Treatment
- EDe0
- Outcome
- total soluble carbohydrates (TSC)e0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the accumulation of starch and total soluble carbohydrates (TSC) in mature leaves also decreased under ED.”
t0“maize leaves”
Claim · model-written summary
Extended darkness increased the share of daily fixed carbon reserved in mature leaves.
- Treatment
- extended darknesst0
- Outcome
- percentage of the daily C fixation reserved in mature leavese0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the percentage of the daily C fixation reserved in mature leaves increased.”
t0“maize leaves and plant adaptive growth under extended darkness”
Claim · model-written summary
Transient carbon pools in maize mature leaves were largely soluble carbohydrates and mainly consumed by increased nocturnal respiration.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“These transient C pools were largely composed of TSC and were mainly used for consumption by increased nocturnal respiration rather than for transport.”
t0“maize leaves”
Claim · model-written summary
Across days, carbon accumulated in maize leaves decreased.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“As the days went on, both the amount of C accumulated and the percentage of the daily fixed C that was reserved in leaves decreased”
t0“maize leaves”
Claim · model-written summary
Across days, the percentage of fixed carbon reserved in maize leaves decreased.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“As the days went on, both the amount of C accumulated and the percentage of the daily fixed C that was reserved in leaves decreased”
t0“maize leaves”
Claim · model-written summary
ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase activity declined significantly over time.
- Gene
- ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylasee0
- Outcome
- activities of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylasee0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The activities of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and soluble starch synthase decreased significantly over time.”
t0“maize leaves”
Claim · model-written summary
Soluble starch synthase activity declined significantly over time.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The activities of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and soluble starch synthase decreased significantly over time.”
t0“maize leaves”
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