Malate as a key carbon source of leaf dark-respired CO2 across different environmental conditions in potato plants.
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ABSTRACT: Dissimilation of carbon sources during plant respiration in support of metabolic processes results in the continuous release of CO2. The carbon isotopic composition of leaf dark-respired CO2 (i.e. ? (13) C R ) shows daily enrichments up to 14.8‰ under different environmental conditions. However, the reasons for this (13)C enrichment in leaf dark-respired CO2 are not fully understood, since daily changes in ?(13)C of putative leaf respiratory carbon sources (? (13) C RS ) are not yet clear. Thus, we exposed potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) to different temperature and soil moisture treatments. We determined ? (13) C R with an in-tube incubation technique and ? (13) C RS with compound-specific isotope analysis during a daily cycle. The highest ? (13) C RS values were found in the organic acid malate under different environmental conditions, showing less negative values compared to ? (13) C R (up to 5.2‰) and compared to ? (13) C RS of soluble carbohydrates, citrate and starch (up to 8.8‰). Moreover, linear relationships between ? (13) C R and ? (13) C RS among different putative carbon sources were strongest for malate during daytime (r(2)=0.69, P?0.001) and nighttime (r(2)=0.36, P?0.001) under all environmental conditions. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed ? (13) C RS of malate as the most important carbon source influencing ? (13) C R . Thus, our results strongly indicate malate as a key carbon source of (13)C enriched dark-respired CO2 in potato plants, probably driven by an anapleurotic flux replenishing intermediates of the Krebs cycle.
SUBMITTER: Lehmann MM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4566975 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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