Article
Chloride as a macronutrient increases water-use efficiency by anatomically driven reduced stomatal conductance and increased mesophyll diffusion to CO2
Author/s | Franco Navarro, Juan de Dios
Rosales Villegas, Miguel Ángel Cubero Font, Paloma Álvarez Morales, Rosario Calvo Ruiz, Purificación Díaz Espejo, Antonio Colmenero Flores, José Manuel |
Department | Universidad de Sevilla. Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología |
Publication Date | 2019 |
Deposit Date | 2022-05-23 |
Published in |
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Abstract | Chloride (Cl−) has been recently described as a beneficial macronutrient, playing specific roles in promoting plant growth and water-use efficiency (WUE). However, it is still unclear how Cl− could be beneficial, especially ... Chloride (Cl−) has been recently described as a beneficial macronutrient, playing specific roles in promoting plant growth and water-use efficiency (WUE). However, it is still unclear how Cl− could be beneficial, especially in comparison with nitrate (NO3 −), an essential source of nitrogen that shares with Cl− similar physical and osmotic properties, as well as common transport mechanisms. In tobacco plants, macronutrient levels of Cl− specifically reduce stomatal conductance (gs) without a concomitant reduction in the net photosynthesis rate (AN). As stomata-mediated water loss through transpiration is inherent in the need of C3 plants to capture CO2, simultaneous increase in photosynthesis and WUE is of great relevance to achieve a sustainable increase in C3 crop productivity. Our results showed that Cl−-mediated stimulation of larger leaf cells leads to a reduction in stomatal density, which in turn reduces gs and water consumption. Conversely, Cl− improves mesophyll diffusion conductance to CO2 (gm) and photosynthetic performance due to a higher surface area of chloroplasts exposed to the intercellular airspace of mesophyll cells, possibly as a consequence of the stimulation of chloroplast biogenesis. A key finding of this study is the simultaneous improvement of AN and WUE due to macronutrient Cl− nutrition. This work identifies relevant and specific functions in which Cl− participates as a beneficial macronutrient for higher plants, uncovering a sustainable approach to improve crop yield. |
Funding agencies | Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICINN). España Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
Project ID. | AGL2015-71386-R
RTI2018-094460-B-I00 CSIC-201540E108 CSIC-201740E084 |
Citation | Franco Navarro, J.d.D., Rosales Villegas, M.Á., Cubero Font, P., Álvarez Morales, R., Calvo Ruiz, P., Díaz Espejo, A. y Colmenero Flores, J.M. (2019). Chloride as a macronutrient increases water-use efficiency by anatomically driven reduced stomatal conductance and increased mesophyll diffusion to CO2. Plant Journal, 99 (5), 815-831. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.14423. |
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