Application of the Artificial Annual Environmental Cycle and Dormancy-Induced Suppression of Cesium Uptake in Poplar

Abstract

In perennial woody plants, dormancy-induced alteration of potassium (K) localization is assumed one of the mechanisms for adapting and surviving the severe winter environment. To establish if radio-cesium (137 Cs) localization is also affected by dormancy initiation, the artificial annual environmental cycle was applied to the model tree poplar. Under the short day-length condition, the amount of 137 Cs in shoots absorbed through the roots was drastically suppressed, but the amount of 42 K was unchanged. Potassium uptake from the rhizosphere is mainly mediated by KUP/HAK/KT and CNGC transporters. However, in poplar, these genes were constantly expressed under the short-day condition and there were no up-or down-regulation. These results indicated the suppression of 137 Cs uptake was triggered by the short-day length, however, the key transporter and the mechanism remains unclear. We hypothesized that Cs and K transport systems are separately regulated in poplar.