Abstract
The Brazilian Cerrado is the second largest Brazilian biome. In recent decades, a reduction in rainfall has indicated an extension of the dry season. Among the many native species of the Cerrado of the Annonaceae family and used in folk medicine, Annona crassiflora Mart. has fruits of high nutritional value and its by-products are sources of bioactive compounds, such as alkaloids. The aim of the study was to investigate how water stress impacts the production of alkaloids. The study was carried out in a nursery, and the knowledge was flood, field capacity and drought. Gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, antioxidant enzymes, total soluble sugars, starch, reducing sugars, sucrose, total alkaloids and liriodenine were analyzed. We observed that plants subjected to drought had an increase in the production of total alkaloids and liriodenine, without a reduction in photosynthetic metabolism. Plants kept under drought and flood conditions dissipated higher peroxidase activity, while catalase was higher in flooded plants. Starch showed the highest concentration in flooding plants without differing from drought plants; the lowest trehalose concentrations were found in both drought and flooding plants. The drought stimulated the synthesis of total alkaloids and liriodenine without reducing the primary metabolism, which suggests adaptation to Cerrado conditions.
Highlights
The Brazilian Cerrado is the second largest Brazilian biome, considered one of the 25 global biodiversity hotspots, present in more than twelve states and occupying approximately 25% of the national territory, with native flora characterized by small and twisted trees [1].This biome covers important aquifers and rivers [2] and is located in the central area of the country, being the origin of large hydrographic regions in Brazil and in the SouthAmerican continent [3,4]
In general, that the ability to adapt to water restriction conditions reflected in the increase in specialized metabolism, unlike what occurred under flooding conditions (Figures 2 and 3, Table 2)
An increase in the production of total alkaloids without the occurrence of reductions in the photosynthetic metabolism of plants was observed when A. crassiflora plants were kept under drought stress conditions (Figures 4 and 5)
Summary
The Brazilian Cerrado is the second largest Brazilian biome, considered one of the 25 global biodiversity hotspots, present in more than twelve states and occupying approximately 25% of the national territory, with native flora characterized by small and twisted trees [1].This biome covers important aquifers and rivers [2] and is located in the central area of the country, being the origin of large hydrographic regions in Brazil and in the SouthAmerican continent [3,4]. The Brazilian Cerrado is the second largest Brazilian biome, considered one of the 25 global biodiversity hotspots, present in more than twelve states and occupying approximately 25% of the national territory, with native flora characterized by small and twisted trees [1]. This biome covers important aquifers and rivers [2] and is located in the central area of the country, being the origin of large hydrographic regions in Brazil and in the South. Species present in the Cerrado biome tend to have smaller specific leaf area; on the other hand, they invest more in the bark in order to guarantee their survival in situations of water and temperature stress [10], and present lower growth rates and greater hydraulic conductance per leaf area unit when compared to species from other biomes [11,12]
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