Abstract
The aim of the research was to compare the impact of short-term deprivation of selected macronutrients (Ca, K, Mg and P) on the photosynthetic characteristics, transpiration and pigment content in maize. The strongest inhibition of photosynthesis was caused by a deprivation of Mg, which was visible as a decrease in the photosynthetic and transpiration rates, stomatal conductance, photosystem II (PSII) performance, chlorophyll and flavonol content with a simultaneously increased content of anthocyanins. In the K-deprived plants, a decrease in the photosynthetic rate was observed. However, the transpiration rate and stomatal conductance did not differ significantly compared with the control. In the K-deprived plants, a decrease in chlorophyll and an increase in the anthocyanin content were also observed. We showed that Ca starvation resulted in a decrease in the photosynthetic and transpiration rates, stomatal conductance and PSII performance, while the pigment content was not significantly different compared with the control. In the case of P-deprived plants, we observed a decrease in the photosynthetic and transpiration rates. Interestingly, the inhibition of stomatal conductance was the strongest in the P-deprived plants compared with all of the investigated elements. However, the performance of PSII was not significantly affected by P starvation compared with the control. Our results present for the first time a comprehensive analysis of the effect of short-term macronutrient deprivation on photosynthesis and transpiration in maize plants.
Highlights
The life cycle of plants is affected by numerous abiotic factors and among them the mineral nutrients that are taken up by plant roots play a crucial role
Calcium has been shown to improve photosynthetic efficiency and stomatal conductance in plants that had been treated with acid precipitation, as well as heat stress[30,31], which is associated with an increased Rubisco activity in plants that had been treated with CaCl232,33
The problem of a nutrient deprivation has been well known for years and has been relatively well examined; there is a lack of research that investigates the effect of starvation on both light and dark reactions of photosynthesis simultaneously
Summary
The life cycle of plants is affected by numerous abiotic factors and among them the mineral nutrients that are taken up by plant roots play a crucial role. A deprivation of this element causes the active reaction centres to close, which reduces the electron transport from PSII to PSI7–9. Another important nutrient is magnesium, which is the activator of more than 300 enzymes (e.g. RNA polymerases, ATPases, protein kinases, phosphatases, glutathione synthase and carboxylases)[10]. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports on the exact mechanism of the effect of a potassium deprivation on photosynthesis[16,21,22] Another function of K is the regulation of stomatal movement, which is dependent on the K+ content. Physiological processes investigated in the current study can be used as the early markers of selected macronutrient deprivation
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