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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Fire and Drought: Soluble Carbohydrate Storage and Survival Mechanisms in Herbaceous Plants from the Cerrado

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Author(s):
de Moraes, Moemy Gomes [1] ; Machado de Carvalho, Maria Angela [2] ; Franco, Augusto Cesar [3] ; Pollock, Christopher J. [4] ; Leone Figueiredo-Ribeiro, Rita de Cassia [2]
Total Authors: 5
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Fed Goias, Inst Ciencias Biol, Goiania, Go - Brazil
[2] Inst Bot, Nucleo Pesquisa Fisiol & Bioquim, Sao Paulo - Brazil
[3] Univ Brasilia, Dept Bot, Inst Ciencias Biol, BR-70910900 Brasilia, DF - Brazil
[4] Inst Grassland & Environm Res, Aberystwyth, Dyfed - Wales
Total Affiliations: 4
Document type: Journal article
Source: Bioscience; v. 66, n. 2, p. 107-117, FEB 2016.
Web of Science Citations: 14
Abstract

The Cerrado biome covers a large area of central Brazil, containing a mosaic of physiognomies determined by soil fertility, seasonal rainfall, and fire. The ground layer vegetation presents a high eudicot diversity and a high proportion of belowground phytomass, represented mainly by a diversity of underground organs storing carbohydrates. Fructans and other soluble carbohydrates are claimed to be more than reserves, conferring protection against abiotic stresses due to osmoregulation properties and rapid turnover. Inulin- and levan-type fructans are prominent and found respectively in the underground organs of Asteraceae and Amaranthaceae, abundant families in the herbaceous Cerrado flora. Poaceae, mainly Panicoideae, is also abundant and accumulates glucose, sucrose, and malto-oligosaccharides, but not fructans, in contrast with temperate grasses. Here, we review evidence that fructans in the herbaceous flora of the Cerrado play a significant role in tolerance to drought and fire, promoting the rapid recovery of the ground-layer vegetation after environmental disturbances. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 05/04139-7 - Carbohydrates of tropical species as modulators of ecophysiological processes and as environmental stress response markers
Grantee:Marcia Regina Braga
Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants