Abstract
The temperate seagrass Zostera marina L. is common in coastal marine habitats characterized by the presence of reducing sediments. The roots of this seagrass grow in these anoxic sediments, yet eelgrass is highly productive. Through photosynthesis-dependent oxygen transport from leaves to roots, aerobic respiration is supported in eelgrass roots only during daylight; consequently, roots are subjected to diurnal periods of anoxia. Under anoxic root conditions, the amino acids alanine and γ-amino butyric acid accumulate within a few hours to account for 70% of the total amino acid pool, while glutamate and glutamine decline. Little ethanol is produced, and the pool size of the organic acid malate changes little or declines slowly. Upon the resumption of shoot photosynthesis and oxygen transport to the roots, the accumulated γ-amino butyric acid declines rapidly, glutamate and glutamine pools increase, and alanine declines over a 16-h period. These adaptive metabolic responses by eelgrass to diurnal root anoxia must contribute to the successful exploitation of shallow-water marine sediments that have excluded nearly all vascular plant groups. A metabolic scheme is presented that accounts for the observed changes in organic and amino acid pool sizes in response to anoxia.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Backman, T. W. and D. C. Barilotti: Irradiance reduction: effects on standing crops of the eelgrass Zostera marina in a coastal lagoon. Mar. Biol. 34, 33–40 (1976)
Bertani, A., F. Menegus and R. Bollini: Some effects of anaerobiosis on protein metabolism in rice roots. Z. Pflanzenphysiol. 103, 37–43 (1981)
Bulthuis, D. A.: Effects of in situ light reduction on density and growth of the seagrass Heterozostera tasmanica (Martens ex Aschers.) den Hartog in Western Port, Victoria, Australia. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 67, 91–103 (1983)
Davies, D. D.: Anaerobic metabolism and the production of organic acids. In: The biochemistry of plants. Vol. 2. Metabolism and respiration, pp 581–607. Ed. by P. K. Stumpf and E. F. Conn. London: Academic Press 1980
Dennison, W. C. and R. S. Alberte: Photosynthetic responses of Zostera marina L. (eelgrass) to in situ manipulations of light intensity. Oecologia 55, 137–144 (1982)
Dubinina, I. M.: Metabolism of roots under various levels of aeration. Sov. Plant Physiol. 8, 314–322 (1961)
Fenchel, T.: Aspects of the decomposition of seagrasses. In: Seagrass ecosystems: a scientific perspective, pp 123–145. Ed. by C. P. McRoy and C. Helfferich. New York: Marcel Dekker 1977
Fulton, J. M., A. E. Erickson and N. E. Tolbert: Distribution of C14 among metabolites of flooded and aerobically grown tomato plants. Agron. J. 56, 527–529 (1964)
Gleason, M. L. and J. C. Zieman: Influence of tidal inundation on internal oxygen supply of Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 13, 47–57 (1981)
Gray, J. C.: Absorption of polyphenols by polyvinylpyrrolidone and polystyrene resins. Phytochemistry 17, 495–497 (1978)
Harrison, P. G.: Comparative growth of Zostera japonica Aschers. & Graebn. and Z. marina L. under simulated intertidal and subtidal conditions. Aquat. Bot. 14, 373–379 (1982)
Iizumi, H. and A. Hattori: Growth and organic production of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in temperate water of the Pacific coast of Japan. III. The kinetics of nitrogen uptake. Aquat. Bot. 12, 245–256 (1982)
Iizumi, H., A. Hattori and C. P. McRoy: Nitrate and nitrite in interstitial waters of eelgrass beds in relation to the rhizosphere. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 47, 191–201 (1980)
Iizumi, H., A. Hattori and C. P. McRoy: Ammonium regeneration and assimilation in eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds. Mar. Biol. 66, 59–65 (1982)
John, C. D. and H. Greenway: Alcoholic fermentation and activity of some enzymes in rice roots under anaerobiosis. Aust. J. Plant physiol. 3, 325–336 (1976)
Joly, C. A. and R. M. M. Crawford: Variation in tolerance and metabolic responses to flooding in some tropical trees. J. exp. Bot. 33, 799–809 (1982)
Jones, B. N. and J. P. Gilligan: o-Phthaldialdehyde precolumn derivatization and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography of polypeptide hydrolysates and physiological fluids. J. Chromatogr. 266, 471–482 (1983)
Kieber, D. J. and K. Mopper: Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of α-keto acid quinoxalinol derivates. Optimization of technique and application to natural samples. J. Chromatogr. 281, 135–149 (1983)
Kirchman, D. L., L. Mazzella, R. S. Alberte and R. Mitchell: Epiphyte bacterial production on Zostera marina. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 15, 117–123 (1984)
McRoy, C. P. and R. J. Barsdate: Phosphate absorption in eelgrass. Limnol. Oceanogr. 15, 6–13 (1970)
Mendelssohn, I. A., K. I. McKee and W. H. Patrick: Oxygen deficiency in Spartina alterniflora roots: metabolic adaptation to anoxia. Science, N.Y. 214, 439–441 (1981)
Miflin, B. J. and P. J. Lea: Amino acid metabolism. A. Rev. Plant Physiol. 28, 299–329 (1977)
Möllering, H.: Malate. Determination with malate dehydrogenase and glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase. In: Methods of enzymatic analysis, 2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp 1589–1593. Ed. by H. U. Bergmeyer. Weinheim: Verlag Chemie 1974
Oremland, R. S. and B. F. Taylor: Diurnal fluctuations of O2, N2, and CH4 in the rhizosphere of Thalassia testudinum. Limnol. Oceanogr. 22, 566–570 (1977)
Penhale, P. A. and R. G. Wetzel: Structural and functional adaptations of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) to the anaerobic sediment environment. Can. J. Bot. 61, 1421–1428 (1983)
Phillips, R. C. and C. P. McRoy (Eds.): Handbook of seagrass biology: an ecosystem perspective, 353 pp. New York: Garland Press 1980
Rumpho, M. E. and R. A. Kennedy: Anaerobiosis in Echinochloa crusgalli (Barnyard grass) seedlings. Intermediary metabolism and ethanol tolerance. Plant Physiol. 72, 44–49 (1983)
Saglio, P. H., P. Raymond and A. Pradet: Metabolic activity and energy charge of excised maize root tips under anoxia. Plant Physiol. 66, 1053–1057 (1980)
Short, F. T.: The response of interstitial ammonium in eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) beds to environmental perturbations. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 68, 195–208 (1983)
Smith, A. M. and T. ap Rees: Pathways of carbohydrate fermentation in the roots of marsh plants. Planta 146, 327–334 (1979a)
Smith, A. M. and T. ap Rees: Effects of anaerobiosis on carbohydrate oxidation by roots of Pisum sativum. Phytochemistry 18, 1453–1458 (1979b)
Smith, R. D., W. C. Dennison and R. S. Alberte: Role of seagrass photosynthesis in root aerobic processes. Plant Physiol. 74, 1055–1058 (1984)
Streeter, J. G. and J. F. Thompson: Anaerobic accumulation of γ-amino butyric acid and alanine in radish leaves (Raphanus sativus L.). Plant Physiol. 49, 572–578 (1972a)
Streeter, J. G. and J. F. Thompson: In vivo and in vitro studies on γ-aminobutyric acid metabolism with the radish plant (Raphanus sativus L.). Plant Physiol. 49, 579–584 (1972b)
Thayer, G. W., D. W. Engel and M. W. LaCroix: Seasonal distribution and changes in the nutritive quality of living, dead and detrital fractions of Zostera marina. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 30, 109–127 (1977)
Witt, I.: Ethanol. Determination with alcohol dehydrogenase and 3-acetylpyridine analogue of NAD (APAD). In: Methods of enzymatic analysis, 2nd ed. Vol. 3, pp 1502–1505. Ed. by H. U. Bergmeyer. Weinheim: Verlag Chemie 1974
Woo, D. J. and J. R. Benson: Organic acid determination by liquid chromatography. Liq. Chromatogr. 1, 238–241 (1983)
Wood, D. C. and S. S. Hayasaka: Chemotaxis of rhizoplane bacteria to amino acids comprising eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) root exudates. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 50, 153–161 (1981)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by R. W. Doyle, Halifax
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pregnall, A.M., Smith, R.D., Kursar, T.A. et al. Metabolic adaptation of Zostera marina (eelgrass) to diurnal periods of root anoxia. Mar. Biol. 83, 141–147 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00394721
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00394721