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Comparative Study
. 2004 Jul;94(1):99-108.
doi: 10.1093/aob/mch110. Epub 2004 May 20.

From individual leaf elongation to whole shoot leaf area expansion: a comparison of three Aegilops and two Triticum species

Lieve Bultynck  1 , Margreet W Ter Steege, Marcus Schortemeyer, Pieter Poot, Hans Lambers
Affiliations
Comparative Study

From individual leaf elongation to whole shoot leaf area expansion: a comparison of three Aegilops and two Triticum species

Lieve Bultynck et al. Ann Bot. 2004 Jul.

Abstract

Background and aims: Rapid leaf area expansion is a desirable trait in the early growth stages of cereal crops grown in low-rainfall areas. In this study, the traits associated with inherent variation in early leaf area expansion rates have been investigated in two wheat species (Triticum aestivum and T. durum) and three of its wild relatives (Aegilops umbellulata, A. caudata and A. tauschii) to find out whether the Aegilops species have a faster leaf area expansion in their early developmental stage than some of the current wheat species.

Methods: Growth of individual leaves, biomass allocation, and gas exchange were measured on hydroponically grown plants for 4 weeks.

Key results: Leaf elongation rate (LER) was strongly and positively correlated with leaf width but not with leaf elongation duration (LED). The species with more rapidly elongating leaves showed a faster increase with leaf position in LER, leaf width and leaf area, higher relative leaf area expansion rates, and more biomass allocation to leaf sheaths and less to roots. No differences in leaf appearance rate were found amongst the species.

Conclusions: Aegilops tauschii was the only wild species with rapid leaf expansion rates similar to those of wheat, and it achieved the highest photosynthetic rates, making it an interesting species for further study.

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Figures

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Fig. 1. Leaf area (A), leaf elongation rate (B), leaf width (C), and leaf elongation duration (D) of successive leaves on main stem, tiller 1 and tiller 2, of A. umbellulata, A. caudata, A. tauschii, T. aestivum and T. durum. Leaf area and width were measured on fully grown harvested leaves. Leaf elongation rate and duration were calculated from daily leaf length measurements. Symbols denote means of eight plants per species. Vertical bars represent LSD.
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Fig. 2. Relationships between (A) leaf elongation rate and leaf width, and (B) leaf elongation rate and duration, of A. umbellulata, A. caudata, A. tauschii, T. aestivum and T. durum. Symbols denote mean values (± s.e.) of eight leaves per leaf position. The lines indicate the linear regressions, derived from the individual values of leaves of all species: (A) y = 0·116x + 0·94 (r2 = 0·71, P < 0·001); (B) y = 0·012x + 5·27 (r2 = 0·049, P < 0·001).
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Fig. 3. Ontogenetic changes in (A) relative growth rate of plant dry mass (RGRdm), (B) leaf area ratio (LAR), (C) net assimilation rate (NAR) and (D) relative leaf area expansion rate (RGRla), of A. umbellulata, A. caudata, A. tauschii, T. aestivum and T. durum. Arrows in (D) indicate onset of tillering for each species. Error bars indicate s.e. (n = 8). For NAR it was not possible to calculate s.e. See Results for statistical evaluation of these parameters.
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Fig. 4. Ontogenetic changes in (A) specific leaf area (SLA), (B) leaf mass ratio (LMR), (C) stem mass ratio (SMR), and (D) root mass ratio (RMR), of A. umbellulata, A. caudata, A. tauschii, T. aestivum and T. durum. Error bars indicate s.e. (n = 8). See Results for statistical evaluation of the parameters.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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