In their natural environment, date palms are exposed to chronic
atmospheric ozone (O3) concentrations from local and remote sources. In
order to elucidate the consequences of this exposure, date palm saplings
were treated with ambient, 1.5 and 2.0 times ambient O3 for three months
in a free-air controlled exposure facility. Chronic O3 exposure reduced
carbohydrate contents in leaves and roots, but this effect was much
stronger in roots. Still, sucrose contents of both organs were
maintained at elevated O3, though at different steady states. Reduced
availability of carbohydrate for the TCA cycle may be responsible for
the observed reduced foliar contents of several amino acids, whereas
malic acid accumulation in the roots indicates a reduced use of TCA
cycle intermediates. Carbohydrate deficiency in roots, but not in leaves
caused oxidative stress upon chronic O3 exposure, as indicated by
enhanced malonedialdehyde, H2O2 and oxidized glutathione contents
despite elevated glutathione reductase activity. Reduced levels of
phenolics and flavonoids in the roots resulted from decreased production
and, therefore, do not indicate oxidative stress compensation by
secondary compounds. These results show that roots of date palms are
highly susceptible to chronic O3 exposure as a consequence of
carbohydrate deficiency.