Abstract
Transient responses of turgor (P) and growth to water stress were studied in maize roots to evaluate mechanisms that enable plants to adjust growth under limited water supply. Using a cell pressure probe, P was measured across the cortex throughout the expansion zone (3 to 10 mm behind the root tip). Upon exposure of roots to hyperosmotic solutions (KCl or mannitol), P declined rapidly due to water loss to the medium and elongation stopped as soon as P dropped below the yield threshold of growth (Y). However, elongation resumed within minutes, and continuous P measurements during this period indicated two mechanisms that enabled the recovery of growth: a) a reduction of Y from initially 0.6 MPa to values as low as 0.3 MPa, and b) an increase of P during the period of zero growth, presumably due to solute accumulation (transport). The rate of P increase declined with increasing osmotic pressures of the medium (πm), suggesting that solute accumulation was turgorsensitive. P recovery was confined to younger parts of the elongation zone at πm= 0.6 MPa, which was associated with a shortening of the elongation zone from initially 10 to 7 mm. The results indicate that solute accumulation could become a rate-limiting process for growth under water stress.
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© 1995 B. G. Teubner Verlagsgesellschaft Leipzig
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Frensch, J., Hsiao, T.C. (1995). Turgor regulation and expansion growth of maize roots during adjustment to water stress. In: Merbach, W. (eds) Mikroökologische Prozesse im System Pflanze-Boden. Vieweg+Teubner Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-83428-7_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-83428-7_22
Publisher Name: Vieweg+Teubner Verlag
Print ISBN: 978-3-8154-3516-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-322-83428-7
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