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Different root parts with or without increased iron-reducing activities have been studied in iron-deficient and iron-sufficient control sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L. Monohil hybrid). The distal root parts of iron-deficient plants, 0 to 5 mm from the root apex, were capable to reduce Fe(III)-chelates and contained concentrations of flavins near 700 m, two characteristics absent in the 5 to 10 mm sections of iron-deficient plants and the whole root of iron-sufficient plants. Flavin-containing root tips had large pools of carboxylic acids and high activities of enzymes involved in organic acid metabolism. In iron-deficient yellow root tips there was a large increase in carbon fixation associated to an increase in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity. Part of this carbon was used, through an increase in mitochondrial activity, to increase the capacity to produce reducing power, whereas another part was exported via xylem. Root respiration was increased by iron deficiency. In sugar beet iron-deficient roots flavins would provide a suitable link between the increased capacity to produce reduced nucleotides and the plasma membrane associated ferric chelate reductase enzyme(s). Iron-deficient roots had a large oxygen consumption rate in the presence of cyanide and hydroxisalycilic acid, suggesting that the ferric chelate reductase enzyme is able to reduce oxygen in the absence of Fe(III)-chelates.

The application of chlorophyll fluorescence measurements to screening barley (Hordeum vulgare 1.) genotypes for salinity tolerance has been investigated. Excised barley leaves were cut under water and incubated with the cut end immersed in water or in a 100-mM NaCl solution, either in the dark or in high light. Changes in rapid fluorescence kinetics occurred in excised barley leaves exposed to the saline solution only when the incubation was carried out in the presence of high light. Fluorescence changes consisted of decreases in the variable to maximum fluorescence ratio and in increases in the relative proportion of variable fluorescence leading to point I in the Kautsky fluorescence induction curve. These relative increases in fluorescence at point I appeared to arise from a delayed plastoquinone reoxidation in the dark, since they disappeared after short, far-red illumination, which is known to excite photosystem I preferentially. We show that a significant correlation existed between some fluorescence parameters, measured after a combined salt and high-light treatment, and other independent measurements of salinity tolerance. These results suggest that chlorophyll fluorescence, and especially the relative fluorescence at point I in the Kautsky fluorescence induction curve, could be used for the screening of barley genotypes for salinity tolerance.

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Different root zones with or without increased Fe-reducing activities have been studied in Fe-deficient sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) plants after Fe resupply to the nutrient solution. The subapical regions of roots from Fe-deficient plants decreased by 19 and 88% their capacity to reduce ferric chelates after 24 and 96 h of Fe resupply, respectively. Iron resupply caused 52 and 96% decreases in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity in root extracts after 24 and 96 h, respectively, and also caused general decreases in other enzyme activities involved in carboxylic acid metabolism. The large pools of carboxylic acids in Fe-deficient roots decreased by 9 and 48% after 24 and 96 h of Fe resupply, respectively. The activities of pyruvate decarboxylase and lactate dehydrogenase, enzymes related to anaerobic metabolism, decreased by 88% after 24 h of Fe resupply. The mitochondrial quinone and pyridine nucleotide pools became more oxidised in the Fe-deficient root tips after Fe resupply. Iron resupply caused a 70% decrease in root oxygen consumption rates 96 h after Fe resupply. Results indicate that deactivation of the Fe deficiency stress responses of sugar beet roots upon Fe resupply occurs in a progressive manner in a time scale of several days.

The exploration of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) intra-varietal diversity can be an interesting approach for the adaptation of viticulture to climate change. We evaluated the response of four Tempranillo clones to simulated year-2100-expected air temperature, CO2, and relative humidity (RH) conditions: climate change (CC; 28 °C/18 °C, 700 μmol mol–1 CO2, and 35%/53% RH) vs current situation conditions (CS; 24 °C/14 °C, 400 μmol mol–1 CO2, and 45%/63% RH), under two irrigation regimes, “well-watered” (WW) vs “water deficit” (WD). The treatments were applied to fruit-bearing cuttings grown under research-oriented greenhouse controlled conditions. CC increased sugar accumulation and hastened grape phenology, an effect that was mitigated by water deficit. Both CC and water deficit modified amino acid concentrations and accumulation profiles with different intensities, depending on the clone. Combined CC and water deficit decreased anthocyanins and the anthocyanin to total soluble solids (TSS) ratio. The results suggest differences in the response of the clones to the 2100-projected conditions, which are not always solely explained by differences observed in the ripening dynamics. Among the clones studied, RJ43 and CL306 were the most affected by CC/WD conditions; meanwhile, 1084 was globally less affected than the other clones.

The FLuorescence EXplorer (FLEX) mission proposes to launch a satellite for the global monitoring of steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence in terrestrial vegetation. Fluorescence is a sensitive probe of photosynthetic function in both healthy and physiologically perturbed vegetation, and a powerful non-invasive tool to track the status, resilience, and recovery of photochemical processes and moreover provides important information on overall photosynthetic performance with implications for related carbon sequestration. The early responsiveness of fluorescence to atmospheric, soil and plant water balance, as well as to atmospheric chemistry and human intervention in land usage makes it an obvious biological indicator in improving our understanding of Earth system dynamics. The amenability of fluorescence to remote, even space-based observation qualifies it to join the emerging suite of space-based technologies for Earth observation. FLEX would encompass a three-instrument array for measurement of the interrelated features of fluorescence, hyperspectral reflectance, and canopy temperature. FLEX would involve a space and ground-truthing program of 3-years duration and would provide data formats for research and applied science. Michael E (2006). FLuorescence EXplorer (FLEX): an optimised payload to map vegetation photosynthesis from space. ABSTRACTThe FLuorescence EXplorer (FLEX) mission proposes to launch a satellite for the global monitoring of steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence in terrestrial vegetation. Fluorescence is a sensitive probe of photosynthetic function in both healthy and physiologically perturbed vegetation, and a powerful non-invasive tool to track the status, resilience, and recovery of photochemical processes and moreover provides important information on overall photosynthetic performance with implications for related carbon sequestration. The early responsiveness of fluorescence to atmospheric, soil and plant water balance, as well as to atmospheric chemistry and human intervention in land usage makes it an obvious biological indicator in improving our understanding of Earth system dynamics. The amenability of fluorescence to remote, even space-based observation qualifies it to join the emerging suite of space-based technologies for Earth observation. FLEX would encompass a three-instrument array for measurement of the interrelated features of fluorescence, hyperspectral reflectance, and canopy temperature. FLEX would involve a space and ground-truthing program of 3-years duration and would provide data formats for research and applied science.