Leverett, A., Hurtado Castaño, N., Ferguson, K. et al. (2 more authors) (2021) Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) supersedes the turgor loss point (TLP) as an important adaptation across a precipitation gradient, in the genus Clusia. Functional Plant Biology, 48 (7). pp. 703-716. ISSN 1445-4408
Abstract
As future climates continue to change, precipitation deficits are expected to become more severe across tropical ecosystems. As a result, it is important that we identify plant physiological traits that act as adaptations to drought, and determine whether these traits act synergistically or independently of each other. In this study, we assessed the role of three leaf-level putative adaptations to drought: crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), the turgor loss point (TLPΨ) and water storage hydrenchyma tissue. Using the genus Clusia as a model, we were able to explore the extent to which these leaf physiological traits co-vary, and also how they contribute to species’ distributions across a precipitation gradient in Central and South America. We found that CAM is independent of the TLPΨ and hydrenchyma depth in Clusia. In addition, we provide evidence that constitutive CAM is an adaptation to year-long water deficits, whereas facultative CAM appears to be more important for surviving acute dry seasons. Finally, we find that the other leaf traits tested did not correlate with environmental precipitation, suggesting that the reduced transpirational rates associated with CAM obviate the need to adapt the TLPΨ and hydrenchyma depth in this genus.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © CSIRO 2021. |
Keywords: | crassulacean acid metabolism; CAM plants; hydrenchyma; turgor; Clusia spp.; drought tolerance; tropical ecophysiology; rainforest ecology |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 10 Mar 2021 12:03 |
Last Modified: | 15 Feb 2022 11:22 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | CSIRO Publishing |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1071/fp20268 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:172006 |