Increase in leaf temperature opens stomata and decouples net photosynthesis from stomatal conductance in Pinus taeda and Populus deltoides x nigra.

The effect of temperature on stomatal conductance (gs) and corresponding gas exchange parameters was studied in two tree species with contrasting leaf anatomy and ecophysiology-a broadleaf angiosperm, Populus deltoides x nigra (poplar), and a needle-leaf gymnosperm, Pinus taeda (loblolly pine). Experiments were conducted in growth chambers across a leaf temperature range of 19-48°C. Manipulations of temperature were done in well-watered and drought soil conditions and under ambient (400 ppm) and elevated (800 ppm) air CO2 concentrations. Increases in leaf temperature caused stomatal opening at both ambient and elevated [CO2]. The gs increased by 42% in poplar and by 40% in loblolly pine when leaf temperature increased from 30°C to 40°C at a vapour pressure difference of 1 kPa. Stomatal limitation to photosynthesis decreased in elevated temperature in loblolly pine but not in poplar. The ratio of net photosynthesis to gs depended on leaf temperature, especially at high temperatures. Evaporative cooling of transpiring leaves resulted in reductions in leaf temperature up to 9°C in well-watered poplar but only 1°C in drought-stressed poplar and in loblolly pine. As global mean temperatures rise and temperature extremes become more frequent and severe, understanding the effect of temperature on gs, and modelling that relationship, will become increasingly important.

A quantitative method for analyzing glycome profiles of plant cell walls.

Glycome profiling allows for the characterization of plant cell wall ultrastructure via sequential extractions and subsequent detection of specific epitopes with a suite of glycan-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The data are often viewed as the amount of materials recovered and coinciding colored heatmaps of mAb binding are generated. Interpretation of these data can be considered qualitative in nature as it depends on detecting subtle visual differences in antibody binding strength. Here, we report a mixed model-based quantitative approach for glycome profile analyses, which accounts for the amount of materials recovered and displays the normalized values in revised heatmaps and statistical heatmaps depicting significant differences. The utility of this methodology was demonstrated on a previously published dataset investigating the effects of moisture stress on the roots and needles of Pinus taeda. An annotated R script for the quantitative methodology is included to allow future studies to utilize the same approach.

Cell Wall Ultrastructure of Stem Wood, Roots, and Needles of a Conifer Varies in Response to Moisture Availability.

The composition, integrity, and architecture of the macromolecular matrix of cell walls, collectively referred to as cell wall ultrastructure, exhibits variation across species and organs and among cell types within organs. Indirect approaches have suggested that modifications to cell wall ultrastructure occur in response to abiotic stress; however, modifications have not been directly observed. Glycome profiling was used to study cell wall ultrastructure by examining variation in composition and extractability of non-cellulosic glycans in cell walls of stem wood, roots, and needles of loblolly pine saplings exposed to high and low soil moisture. Soil moisture influenced physiological processes and the overall composition and extractability of cell wall components differed as a function of soil moisture treatments. The strongest response of cell wall ultrastructure to soil moisture was increased extractability of pectic backbone epitopes in the low soil moisture treatment. The higher abundance of these pectic backbone epitopes in the oxalate extract indicate that the loosening of cell wall pectic components could be associated with the release of pectic signals as a stress response. The increased extractability of pectic backbone epitopes in response to low soil moisture availability was more pronounced in stem wood than in roots or needles. Additional responses to low soil moisture availability were observed in lignin-associated carbohydrates released in chlorite extracts of stem wood, including an increased abundance of pectic arabinogalactan epitopes. Overall, these results indicate that cell walls of loblolly pine organs undergo changes in their ultrastructural composition and extractability as a response to soil moisture availability and that cell walls of the stem wood are more responsive to low soil moisture availability compared to cell walls of roots and needles. To our knowledge, this is the first direct evidence, delineated by glycomic analyses, that abiotic stress affects cell wall ultrastructure. This study is also unique in that glycome profiling of pine needles has never before been reported.