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. 2022 Sep 29:13:941764.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.941764. eCollection 2022.

Hydraulic constraints determine the distribution of heteromorphic leaves along plant vertical height

Xiao-Dong Yang  1   2 , Elhamjan Anwar  2 , Yi-Lu Xu  3 , Jie Zhou  2 , Long-Bin Sha  2 , Xue-Wei Gong  4 , Arshad Ali  5 , Yong-Chao Gao  6 , Yanju Liu  3 , Ping Ge  7
Affiliations

Hydraulic constraints determine the distribution of heteromorphic leaves along plant vertical height

Xiao-Dong Yang et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

As an interesting and important trait of some drought-tolerant species, heteromorphic leaves are distributed differentially along plant vertical heights. However, the underpinning mechanism for the formation of heteromorphic leaves remains unclear. We hypothesize that heteromorphic leaves are caused by the hydraulic constraints possibly due to the compensation of the changes in functional traits in response to water transport capacity or the reduction of ineffective water loss. In this study, differences in water transport capacity, morphological traits, anatomical structures, and cellular water relations among three typical types of heteromorphic leaves (i.e., lanceolate, ovate, and broad-ovate) of Populus euphratica Oliv. (a dominant species of desert riparian forest in Central and West Asia) and their relationships were analyzed in order to explore the forming mechanism of heteromorphic leaves. The results showed that the lanceolate, ovate, and broad-ovate leaves were growing in the lower, intermediate, and higher positions from the ground, respectively. Morphological traits, anatomical structures, cellular water relations, and water transport capacity significantly varied among the three types of heteromorphic leaves (P< 0.01). Drought stress in broad-ovate leaves was significantly higher than that in ovate and lanceolate leaves (P< 0.01). Water transport capacity has significant correlations with morphological traits, anatomical structures, and cellular water relations (R 2 ≥ 0.30; P< 0.01). Our results indicated that heteromorphic leaves were used as an important adaptive strategy for P. euphratica to alleviate the increase of hydraulic constraints along vertical heights.

Keywords: anatomical structures; arid desert region; cellular water relations; drought stress; morphological traits; water transport capacity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Spatial distribution of the three types of heteromorphic leaves.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Differences in morphological traits among the three types of heteromorphic leaves. The values of P and F are the statistical results of one-way ANOVA. Different letters on the back of the related variables indicate the significant differences among heteromorphic leaves, while the same letters show the insignificant difference. Values are represented as mean ± SD.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Differences in anatomical structures among the three types of heteromorphic leaves. The instructions of P, F, and other capital letters are shown in Figure 2 .
Figure 4
Figure 4
Differences in cellular water relations among the three types of heteromorphic leaves. The instructions of P, F, and other capital letters are shown in Figure 2 .
Figure 5
Figure 5
Differences in water transport capacity among the three types of heteromorphic leaves. The instructions of P, F, and other capital letters are shown in Figure 2 .
Figure 6
Figure 6
PCA results of water transport capacity, morphological traits, anatomical structures, and cellular water relations.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The fitting of water transport capacity with morphological traits, anatomical structures, and cellular water relations. The relationships of PC1 of water transport capacity with the other categories are performed using linear fitting, while those of PC2 are performed using exponential fitting.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Differences in drought stress among the heteromorphic leaves. MDA is the abbreviation of malondialdehyde. The instructions of P, F, and other capital letters are shown in Figure 2 .
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