Ten quantitative morphological characters were studied in 56 Morus alba L. trees representing three natural populations from the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region. The altitude of collection sites ranged from 2815 to 3177...Ten quantitative morphological characters were studied in 56 Morus alba L. trees representing three natural populations from the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region. The altitude of collection sites ranged from 2815 to 3177 m above the sea level(asl). Coefficient of variation(CV) showed high phenotypic variation in M. alba. Linear regression analysis revealed that leaf and fruit size decreases with an increase in altitude. High CV was observed for leaf length, leaf width, petiole length, leaf area, internodal distance, number of nodes, bud length, fruit length, fruit width and fruit weight. Similarly, a high phenotypic plasticity index was observed for bud length, leaf length, leaf width, petiole length, leaf area, inter-nodal distance, number of nodes, fruit length, fruit width and fruit weight. For every 100 m increase in altitude, leaf length, leaf width and leaf area decreased by 1 cm, 0.8 cm and 16.6 cm2, respectively. Analysis of covariance showed a predominant altitudinal effect on the morphological characters in comparison to the population effect. A small change in the altitude caused significant change in the plant morphological characteristics. The present investigation represents to our knowledge the first study addressing phenotypic variation in mulberryalong an altitudinal gradient.展开更多
Understanding how nutrient absorption processes in plants are related to arbuscular mycorrhizal(AM)association is critical for predicting the effects of AM symbiosis on elemental cycling for plants. Both mulberry(Moru...Understanding how nutrient absorption processes in plants are related to arbuscular mycorrhizal(AM)association is critical for predicting the effects of AM symbiosis on elemental cycling for plants. Both mulberry(Morus alba) and Chinese prickly ash(Zanthoxylum bungeanum) are AM-associated plants, widely distributed in southwest China. It was hypothesized that if the nutrient absorption processes were efficiently associated with AM symbiosis in both mulberry and Chinese prickly ash, foliar nutrient concentrations—especially calcium(Ca)—would be primarily determined by the soil conditions in different regions. To investigate this, AM colonization levels of soils, nutrient levels in soils and leaves, and δ^(13)C values of leaves were analyzed for mulberry and Chinese prickly ash.In this study, spore density in soils with low p H was higher than that in soils with high p H. The average concentrations of sugar delivered to roots in both mulberry and Chinese prickly ash in soil with relatively low p H and soil extractable cations were higher than those in other areas.The values of foliar δ^(13)C in both mulberry and Chinese prickly ash in low soil-pH and soil extractable cations were lower than those in contrast areas, indicating that water availability was impacted by soil characteristics. The efficiency in AM-mediated processes might play an important role in translocation between soil nutrients and plant tissue.The results suggest uptake and translocation of nutrients,especially Ca, in AM-associated plants may be affected by an efficiency of AM-mediated processes. Since Sr does not appear to be similarly affected, expressing Ca and other nutrient concentrations relative to Sr could be used to evaluate whether the uptake and translocation of Ca and other nutrients are affected by AM-mediated processes.展开更多
基金supported by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO),Ministry of Defence, Government of India
文摘Ten quantitative morphological characters were studied in 56 Morus alba L. trees representing three natural populations from the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region. The altitude of collection sites ranged from 2815 to 3177 m above the sea level(asl). Coefficient of variation(CV) showed high phenotypic variation in M. alba. Linear regression analysis revealed that leaf and fruit size decreases with an increase in altitude. High CV was observed for leaf length, leaf width, petiole length, leaf area, internodal distance, number of nodes, bud length, fruit length, fruit width and fruit weight. Similarly, a high phenotypic plasticity index was observed for bud length, leaf length, leaf width, petiole length, leaf area, inter-nodal distance, number of nodes, fruit length, fruit width and fruit weight. For every 100 m increase in altitude, leaf length, leaf width and leaf area decreased by 1 cm, 0.8 cm and 16.6 cm2, respectively. Analysis of covariance showed a predominant altitudinal effect on the morphological characters in comparison to the population effect. A small change in the altitude caused significant change in the plant morphological characteristics. The present investigation represents to our knowledge the first study addressing phenotypic variation in mulberryalong an altitudinal gradient.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no.4121004)water project of MEP (2012ZX07503003001)
文摘Understanding how nutrient absorption processes in plants are related to arbuscular mycorrhizal(AM)association is critical for predicting the effects of AM symbiosis on elemental cycling for plants. Both mulberry(Morus alba) and Chinese prickly ash(Zanthoxylum bungeanum) are AM-associated plants, widely distributed in southwest China. It was hypothesized that if the nutrient absorption processes were efficiently associated with AM symbiosis in both mulberry and Chinese prickly ash, foliar nutrient concentrations—especially calcium(Ca)—would be primarily determined by the soil conditions in different regions. To investigate this, AM colonization levels of soils, nutrient levels in soils and leaves, and δ^(13)C values of leaves were analyzed for mulberry and Chinese prickly ash.In this study, spore density in soils with low p H was higher than that in soils with high p H. The average concentrations of sugar delivered to roots in both mulberry and Chinese prickly ash in soil with relatively low p H and soil extractable cations were higher than those in other areas.The values of foliar δ^(13)C in both mulberry and Chinese prickly ash in low soil-pH and soil extractable cations were lower than those in contrast areas, indicating that water availability was impacted by soil characteristics. The efficiency in AM-mediated processes might play an important role in translocation between soil nutrients and plant tissue.The results suggest uptake and translocation of nutrients,especially Ca, in AM-associated plants may be affected by an efficiency of AM-mediated processes. Since Sr does not appear to be similarly affected, expressing Ca and other nutrient concentrations relative to Sr could be used to evaluate whether the uptake and translocation of Ca and other nutrients are affected by AM-mediated processes.
