Search Results
Mechanisms of sugar accumulation in response to drought stress in Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) fruit were investigated. Predawn leaf water potentials averaged -0.35MPa for well-watered, -0.60 MPa for moderately drought-stressed, and -1.00 MPa for severely drought-stressed glasshouse-grown 3-year-old trees. Fruit peel turgor and fruit growth of the moderately drought-stressed trees recovered to a similar value to that of the well-watered trees. Photosynthetic rates and stomatal conductance of both moderately and severely drought-stressed trees were significantly lower than those of the well-watered plants. However, the total sugar content per fruit of moderately drought-stressed trees was the highest among the drought treatments. A 13C-labeling experiment showed that 13C distribution in fruit grown under the moderately drought-stressed condition was the highest. These findings indicate that sugar accumulation in fruit was caused by an increase in translocation of photosynthates into fruit, especially into the juice sacs, under drought stress.
Two cultivars of tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.) were used to check the effect of trehalose-feeding on longevity of vase life. `Oxford' plants were grown from bulbs, and trehalose-fed cut flowers were compared with the intact plants grown in pots. `Pink Diamond' flowers were obtained commercially as cut flowers from the market, and trehalose-feeding was examined by using only flower parts. In both cultivars of plants, it was confirmed that trehalose-feeding enhanced longevity of the vase life significantly at room temperature. Additionally, mechanisms of prolonging the vase life with trehalose-fed flowers were studied by comparing the water status in the zone of elongation of tulip tepals when their growth rates were modified with different treatments. In the elongating region of tulip tepals, cell elongation rates were linearly correlated to sizes of the growth-induced water potential regardless of treatments. It was found that trehalose-feeding reduced the hydraulic conductance, resulting in a decrease in cell elongation rates. Also, trehalose helped to maintain turgor of tepal cells for longer periods. Furthermore, trehalose enhanced pigmentation in tepals, and thus, trehalose is believed to have had a role in altering the metabolism in elongating cells and in reducing hydraulic conductivity in membranes.
The effect of water stress induced to enhance sugar accumulation in Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) fruit was investigated. Satsuma mandarin trees were subjected to water stress using mulch cultivation from late August to early December. In mulch treatment, soil was covered with double-layered plastic sheets that prevented rainfall from permeating the soil, but allowed water from soil to evaporate. The water status of soil, fine roots, pericarps, and juice vesicles was determined using the isopiestic psychrometer. As the severity of water stress increased, both water potential and osmotic potential of fine roots and pericarps significantly decreased in plants grown under mulch cultivation compared to well-watered trees. Although water potential and osmotic potential decreased, turgor of both roots and pericarps of the water stressed trees did not decrease under water stress conditions. Because turgor was maintained, osmoregulation occurred in Satsuma mandarin trees in response to water stress. The osmotic potential of juice vesicles in water-stressed fruit gradually decreased, and sugars accumulated in vesicle cells. Concentrations of sucrose, fructose, and glucose increased in fruit sap under water stress, and the acidity in the fruit juice increased. Furthermore, the total sugar content per fruit of water stressed trees was significantly higher than in fruit of well-watered trees. These results suggest that sugar accumulation in Satsuma mandarin fruit was not caused by dehydration under water stress but rather that sugars were accumulated by active osmoregulation in response to water stress. When sugar components in osmoregulated fruit were analyzed, it was found that monosaccharides, i.e., glucose and fructose, were largely responsible for active osmoregulation in fruit under water stress conditions.