Opposite metabolic responses of shoots and roots to drought

0435758 - ÚVGZ 2015 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Gargallo-Garriga, A. - Sardans, J. - Pérez-Trujillo, M. - Rivas-Ubach, A. - Oravec, Michal - Večeřová, Kristýna - Urban, Otmar - Jentsch, A. - Kreyling, J. - Beierkuhnlein, C. - Parella, T. - Penuelas, J.
Opposite metabolic responses of shoots and roots to drought.
Scientific Reports. Roč. 4, č. 6829 (2014), s. 1-7. ISSN 2045-2322. E-ISSN 2045-2322
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) M200871201
Institutional support: RVO:67179843
Keywords : shoot and roots * autotrophic and heterotrophic organs * environmental change * growth metabolism * water and nutirens
Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour
Impact factor: 5.578, year: 2014

Shoots and roots are autotrophic and heterotrophic organs of plants with different physiological functions. Do they have different metabolomes? Do their metabolisms respond differently to environmental changes such as drought? We used metabolomics and elemental analyses to answer these questions. First, we show that shoots and roots have different metabolomes and nutrient and elemental stoichiometries. Second, we show that the shoot metabolome is much more variable among species and seasons than is the root metabolome. Third, we show that the metabolic response of shoots to drought contrasts with that of roots; shoots decrease their growth metabolism (lower concentrations of sugars, amino acids, nucleosides, N, P, and K), and roots increase it in a mirrored response. Shoots are metabolically deactivated during drought to reduce the consumption of water and nutrients, whereas roots are metabolically activated to enhance the uptake of water and nutrients, together buffering the effects of drought, at least at the short term.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0239565