Thermal acclimation of leaf respiration as a way to reduce source–sink imbalance at low temperatures in Erythronium americanum, a spring ephemeral

Abstract

Many spring geophytes exhibit greater growth at colder than at warmer temperatures. Previous studies have suggested that there is less disequilibrium between source and sink activity at low temperatures, which delays leaf senescence and leads to higher accumulation of biomass in the perennial organ. We hypothesized that dark respiration acclimates to temperature at both the leaf and bulb levels, mainly via the alternative respiratory pathway, as a way to reduce source–sink imbalance. Erythronium americanum Ker-Gawl. was grown under three temperature regimes: 8/6 °C, 12/8 °C, and 18/14 °C (day/night). Plant respiratory rates were measured at both growth and common temperatures to determine whether differences were due to the direct effects of temperature on respiratory rates or to acclimation. Leaf dark respiration exhibited homeostasis, which together with lower assimilation at low growth temperature, most likely reduced the quantity of C available for translocation to the bulb. No temperature acclimation was visible at the sink level. However, bulb total respiration varied through time, suggesting potential stimulation of bulb respiration as sink limitation builds up. In conclusion, acclimation of respiration at the leaf level could partly explain the better equilibrium between source and sink activity in plants grown in low-temperatures, whereas bulb respiration responds to source–sink imbalance.