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Winegrape productivity and quality has been related to the regulated deficit irrigation, with important implications for the plant bioenergetics. When water deficit is imposed to grapevine plants, alterations in overall photosynthesis and cell respiration are observed. The aim of this study was to assess the modulations promoted by water stress on photosynthesis and respiration in leaves of the cv. Cabernet Sauvignon (cv. CS) for better understanding the physiological responses related to its drought tolerance and quality improvement under water deficit. For this purpose, measurements of photosynthetic efficiency, leaf water potential, gas exchange and O 2 consumption were carried out. Leaf water potential, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration and internal carbon concentration were significantly reduced upon stress, suggesting that plants of cv. CS present higher water use efficiency (A N /E) and lower carboxylative capacity (A N /Ci) under this condition. On the other hand, cell respiration increased more than 70 % as estimated by the increase of O 2 consumption measured 12 days after suspension of irrigation. Most of this effect was related to a four-fold increase of the mitochondrial alternative oxidase (AOX) activity. These data indicate a key role for the AOX pathway in the physiological responses of grapevines to water deficit, and it implies that analyses of the AOX activation patterns should be useful for programs aiming to improve the consistency of fruit production and quality of winegrape cultivars by regulated deficit irrigation.Keywords: Vitis vinifera, drought tolerance, irrigation management, respiratory chain regulation, plant bioenergetics.Modulações na fotossíntese e respiração celular relacionadas à deficiência hídrica eM Videira (Vitis Vinifera l.) cV. carbernet sauVignon resumo -A qualidade e produtivade das uvas viníferas têm sido relacionadas a privação regulada de irrigação, o que sugere implicações importantes para a bioenergética da planta. Quando submetidas ao déficit hídrico as videiras apresentam alterações globais na fotossíntese e na respiração. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as modulações promovidas pelo estresse hídrico na fotossíntese Braz. J. Plant Physiol., 21 (2) e respiração em folhas da cv. Cabernet Sauvignon (cv. CS) visando o melhor entendimento das respostas fisiológicas relacionadas com sua tolerância à seca e melhoria da qualidade sob estresse hídrico. Para tanto, mensurou-se a eficiência fotossintética, o potencial hídrico foliar, as trocas gasosas e o consumo de oxigênio. O potencial hídrico foliar, fotossíntese, condutância estomática, transpiração e concentração interna de carbono foram significativamente reduzidas com o estresse, sugerindo que as plantas da cv. CS apresentam alta eficiência no uso da água (A N /E) e baixa eficiência carboxilativa (A N /Ci) sob essa condição. Por outro lado, a respiração celular estimada pelo consumo de O 2 aumentou mais que 70 % aos doze dias após a suspensão da irrigação, sendo a maior parte desse ef...

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The use of plants for healing diseases is one of the oldest medical practices and there are several studies showing that botany and medicine are related. Recent researches have shown that around 25% of new chemical entities and 42% of anticancer drugs marketed worldwide from 1981 to 2006 are obtained from natural products and their derivatives. One-third of the botanical biodiversity of the planet is in South American tropical ecosystems (Neotropical). Over the centuries, plants have been used by indigenous people for curing diseases. This strong tradition has been a great challenge for the scientific community in order to validate the folkloric medicinal use of herbs. In this way, a very few Neotropical pharmaceutical products have reached the market in industrialized countries, even though they have a considerable plant diversity. Plants synthesize several organic compounds which are not related to their growth and development and are called secondary metabolites or natural products that are derived from central or primary metabolism. Because plants are sessile organisms, they have to respond quickly to environmental changes in order to escape and survive under unfavorable conditions. Drought is one of the most worldwide serious impediments for crop yields producing adverse negative effects on plant growth, by impacting leaves and roots growth, stomatal conductance, photosynthetic rate and biomass gain. The three major classes of secondary metabolites are produced from pathways of different primary metabolites, including glycolysis, tricarboxilic acid cycle, aliphatic amino acids, pentose phosphate pathway, shikimate pathway and aromatic amino acids. This review compiles the metabolic changes occurring at primary metabolite level and total biosynthesis of natural products with potential for the development of new drugs in response to drought.

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