Johnson, S.N. orcid.org/0000-0002-8388-8345, Vandegeer, R.K., Borevitz, J.O. et al. (3 more authors) (2023) Climatic drivers of silicon accumulation in a model grass operate in low- but not high-silicon soils. Plants, 12 (5). 995. ISSN 2223-7747
Abstract
Grasses are hyper-accumulators of silicon (Si), which is known to alleviate diverse environmental stresses, prompting speculation that Si accumulation evolved in response to unfavourable climatic conditions, including seasonally arid environments. We conducted a common garden experiment using 57 accessions of the model grass Brachypodium distachyon, sourced from different Mediterranean locations, to test relationships between Si accumulation and 19 bioclimatic variables. Plants were grown in soil with either low or high (Si supplemented) levels of bioavailable Si. Si accumulation was negatively correlated with temperature variables (annual mean diurnal temperature range, temperature seasonality, annual temperature range) and precipitation seasonality. Si accumulation was positively correlated with precipitation variables (annual precipitation, precipitation of the driest month and quarter, and precipitation of the warmest quarter). These relationships, however, were only observed in low-Si soils and not in Si-supplemented soils. Our hypothesis that accessions of B. distachyon from seasonally arid conditions have higher Si accumulation was not supported. On the contrary, higher temperatures and lower precipitation regimes were associated with lower Si accumulation. These relationships were decoupled in high-Si soils. These exploratory results suggest that geographical origin and prevailing climatic conditions may play a role in predicting patterns of Si accumulation in grasses.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | false brome; phytoliths; precipitation; rainfall; seasonality; silica |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Vice-Chancellor's Office (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Australian Research Council DP170102278 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 15 Mar 2023 14:26 |
Last Modified: | 15 Mar 2023 14:26 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI AG |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/plants12050995 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:197305 |