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Physio-anatomical responses of tobacco under caffeine stress

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Photosynthetica

Abstract

Caffeine, a purine alkaloid, is reported to act both as an inducer or inhibitor to plant growth in various species. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of exogenous caffeine on tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants, a plant that does not naturally synthesise caffeine. A hydroponic experiment was carried out in a growth chamber for 14 d using Hoagland’s solution supplemented with 0 (control), 25, 50, 100, 1,000; and 5,000 μM caffeine. None of the investigated caffeine concentrations significantly decreased the net photosynthetic rate except the highest concentrations of 1,000 and 5,000 μM. Light microscopy of thick-sectioned roots showed that 1,000 μM and 5,000 μM caffeine-treated plants possessed deformed epidermal cells, reduced number of cortical cells, and deformed vascular tissues with cells exhibiting thickened xylem walls as compared with control plants. Moreover, transmission electron micrographs of roots revealed that mitochondria and the plasma membrane were affected.

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Abbreviations

E :

transpiration rate

gs:

stomatal conductance

P N :

net photosynthetic rate

TEM:

transmission electron microscope

SEM:

standard errors for the means

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Science and Arts, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    R. Alkhatib

  2. Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Arts, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    B. Alkhatib & L. Al-Eitan

  3. Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    N. Abdo

  4. Department of Natural Resources and Environment, College of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    M. Tadros

  5. Department of Biology and Biotechnology, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan

    E. Bsoul

Authors
  1. R. Alkhatib
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  2. B. Alkhatib
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  3. L. Al-Eitan
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  4. N. Abdo
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  5. M. Tadros
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  6. E. Bsoul
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Correspondence to R. Alkhatib.

Additional information

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Jordan University of Science and Technology, for their generous grant No. 2013/262. The authors thank Dr. Marshall Sundberg for his thoughtful comments editing the manuscript. Also, the authors would like to thank Mr. Munier Alkhdour and Mu′tz Al-Zoubi for use of the TEM facilities and for technical assistance.

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Alkhatib, R., Alkhatib, B., Al-Eitan, L. et al. Physio-anatomical responses of tobacco under caffeine stress. Photosynthetica 56, 1140–1146 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-018-0798-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-018-0798-4

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