Effects of elevated CO2 and/or O3 on hormone IAA in needles of Chinese pine

Abstract

This study examined the effects of season-long exposure of Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) to elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or ozone (O3) on indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) content, activities of IAA oxidase (IAAO) and peroxidase (POD) in needles. Trees grown in open-top chambers (OTC) were exposed to control (ambient O3, 55 nmol mol−1 + ambient CO2, 350 μmol mol−1, CK), elevated CO2 (ambient O3 + high CO2, 700 μmol mol−1, EC) and elevated O3 (high O3, 80 ± 8 nmol mol−1 + ambient CO2, EO) OTCs from 1 June to 30 September. Plants grown in elevated CO2 OTC had a growth increase of axial shoot and needle length, compared to control, by 20% and 10% respectively, while the growth in elevated O3 OTC was 43% and 7% less respectively, than control. An increase in IAA content and POD activity and decrease in IAAO activity were observed in trees exposed to elevated CO2 concentration compared with control. Elevated O3 decreased IAA content and had no significant effect on IAAO activity, but significantly increased POD activity. When trees pre-exposed to elevated CO2 were transferred to elevated O3 (EC–EO) or trees pre-exposed to elevated O3 were transferred to elevated CO2 (EO–EC), IAA content was lower while IAAO activity was higher than that transferred to CK (EC–CK or EO–CK), the change in IAA content was also related to IAAO activity. The results indicated that IAAO and POD activities in Chinese pine needles may be affected by the changes in the atmospheric environment, resulting in the change of IAA metabolism which in turn may cause changes in Chinese pine’s growth.