Water stress effects on the content of low molecular weight carbohydrates and phenolic acids in Ctenanthe setosa (Rosc.) Eichler

Abstract

R. 2000. Water stress effects on the content of low molecular weight carbohydrates and phenolic acids in Ctenanthe setosa (Rosc.) Eichler. Can. J. Plant Sci. 80: 373-378. Morphological and biochemical changes in plant cells are known as important events for adaptation to stress. In this study, changes in carbohydrate and phenolic acid concentrations during leaf rolling under water stress were investigated. Leaves of vegetatively propagated Ctenanthe setosa (Rosc.) Eichler plants started to roll after a 28-d water deficit. After approximately 33-35 d, the leaves were tightly rolled. Water stress significantly increased the dry weight of rolled leaves. Low molecular dry weight carbohydrate components identified in unrolled and rolled leaves were fructose, glucose, inositol and sucrose. Leaves of stressed plants tended to accumulate more carbohydrates of low molecular weight. The same sugars (except inositol) were also identified in liquid and crystal forms of exudates, which appeared on the abaxial surface of the leaves during leaf rolling. The phenolic acids identified in unrolled and rolled leaves were from the benzoic group (benzoic, salicylic, 4-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic, syringic acids), and the cinnamic group (ferulic and caffeic acids both in free and methyl ester form and cis-and trans-p-coumaric acids). All phenolic acid concentrations (except for salicylic acid) in the phenolic group increased in rolled leaves in comparison with unrolled leaves. In the cinnamic group, the amounts of cis-and trans-p-coumaric and caffeic acids were greater in rolled leaves than in unrolled leaves. Water deficit stress is one of the major factors limiting the growth of land plants (Levitt 1980). During water stress in plants, some adaptive response such as leaf movements are observed (Begg 1980;Ehleringer and Forseth 1980). Among the leaf movements, leaf rolling has been identified as one of the most frequent responses to water deficit in some plants (Townley-Smith and Hurd 1979;Begg 1980;Blum 1988). Leaf rolling is induced by a reduction in pressure potential as a consequence of water loss from the bulliform cells in the upper epidermis of the leaf. Leaf rolling reduces indicent irradiation, leaf temperature and transpiration (O'Toole et al. 1979;Begg 1980;Ehleringer and Forseth 1980;Hsiao et al. 1984), and has been investigated especially in grasses (Clarke 1986;Ekanayake et al. 1993); rice (Omarova et al. 1995;Turner et al 1986) and maize (Loresto et al. 1976;O'Toole and Garrity 1984;Premachandra et al. 1993) also show leaf rolling behavior.Ctenanthe setosa, a species that shows a leaf rolling response to drought, is a member of a small family of tropical herbaceous perennials, and is cultivated as a greenhouse ornamental and houseplant (Heywood 1978 For personal use only. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PLANT SCIENCErolling (Turgut and Kadioglu 1998). Kadioglu and Turgut (1999) reported that upon irrigation of Ctenanthe setosa that have rolled leaves, many exudates can be observed on the abaxial surface of the...

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