Manganese Deficiency Suppresses Growth and Photosynthetic Processes but Causes an Increase in the Expression of Photosynthetic Genes in Scots Pine Seedlings

Abstract

Manganese deficiency is a serious plant nutritional disorder, resulting in the loss of crop productivity in many parts of the world. Despite the progress made in the study of angiosperms, the demand for Mn in gymnosperms and the physiological responses to Mn deficiency remain unexplored. We studied the influence of Mn deficiency for 24 weeks on Pinus sylvestris L. seedling growth, ion homeostasis, pigment contents, lipid peroxidation, chlorophyll fluorescence indices and the transcript levels of photosynthetic genes and genes involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis. It was shown that Mn-deficient plants demonstrated suppressed growth when the Mn content in the needles decreased below 0.34 µmol/g DW. The contents of photosynthetic pigments decreased when the Mn content in the needles reached 0.10 µmol/g DW. Mn deficiency per se did not lead to a decrease in the nutrient content in the organs of seedlings. Photoinhibition of PSII was observed in Mn-deficient plants, although this was not accompanied by the development of oxidative stress. Mn-deficient plants had an increased transcript abundance of genes (psbO, psbP, psbQ, psbA and psbC), encoding proteins directly associated with the Mn cluster also as other proteins involved in photosynthesis, whose activities do not depend on Mn directly. Furthermore, the transcript levels of the genes encoding the large subunit of Rubisco, light-dependent NADPH-protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase and subunits of light-independent protochlorophyllide reductase were also increased in Mn-deficient plants.

Effect of Mn Deficiency on Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism of Different Genotypes Seedlings in Maize (Zea mays L.)

“…This probably resulted from the negative effect of Mn deficiency on water photolysis and the impaired function of the electron transport chain on the chlorophyll thylakoid membranes from PSII to PSΙ [ 32 , 33 ]. We also found that the tolerant genotype mitigates damage to the photosynthetic machinery by dissipating excess light energy in the form of heat, whereas the sensitive genotype photochemical energy conversion and protective regulatory mechanisms cannot completely process the absorbed light energy; this leads to increasingly severe photodamage in maize seedlings, which was also reported in previous studies [ 2 , 12 , 34 , 35 ]. Moreover, we observed that the young leaves of sensitive genotype maize seedlings showed striped chlorosis when they were slightly manganese deficient, and the leaf area decreased significantly, especially when they were completely manganese-deficient.…”

“…Manganese (Mn) is an essential micronutrient for the normal growth and development of higher plants [ 1 ]. As an important component of the oxygen evolution complex (OEC) of Photosystem II (PSII) [ 2 , 3 ], it strongly influences photosynthetic water oxidation processes [ 4 ], carbohydrate metabolism [ 5 ], and nitrate assimilation in plants [ 6 ].…”

Characterization of Physiology, Photosynthesis, and Nutrition Based on Induced Deficiencies of Macro- and Micronutrients in Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)

“…Notable diminishments of these growth parameters were also observed in many plant species when lacking Mn, B, Zn, and Cu, such as cabbage [45], tobacco [46], and lettuce [47]. However, for these mentioned micronutrient deficiencies, we found that only slight nutrient deficiency symptoms were developed in leaves (Figure 2) due to the fact that the visual symptoms only appeared when the plant growth was severely depressed [42,48]. These four micronutrients were strongly related to photosynthesis.…”

Phosphorus and Micronutrient Interactions in soil and their Impacts on Maize Growth

“…These three micronutrients take part directly and/or indirectly in plant nutrition while their deficiency may cause growth retardation in plants, and finally plant death (Robe et al 2021;Ivanov et al 2022;Ahmadi et al 2023;El Amine et al 2023;Younas et al 2023). On the other hand, they become rapidly immobile in soils within short time periods of application (Abbas and Salem 2011;Abbas 2013;Elshony et al 2019).…”