Pneumatic Method to Measure Plant Xylem Embolism

Author(s)

Bittencourt, Paulo R. L. ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Pereira, Luciano ^[4] ; Oliveira, Rafael S. ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Exeter, Coll Life & Environm Sci, Exeter, Devon - England

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, UNICAMP, Dept Plant Biol, Inst Biol, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Exeter, Coll Life & Environm Sci, Dept Geog, Amory Bldg, Exeter EX4 4RJ, Devon - England

^[4] Agron Inst IAC, Ctr R&D Ecophysiol & Biophys, Lab Plant Physiol Coaracy M Franco, Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BIO-PROTOCOL; v. 8, n. 20 OCT 20 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Embolism, the formation of air bubbles in the plant water transport system, has a major impact on plant water relations. Embolism formation in the water transport system of plants disrupts plant water transport capacity, impairing plant functioning and triggering plant mortality. Measuring embolism with traditional hydraulic methods is both time-consuming and requires large amounts of plant material. While the stem hydraulic methods measure loss of xylem hydraulic conductance due to embolism formation, the pneumatic method directly quantifies the amount of emboli inside the xylem as changes in xylem air content. The pneumatic method is an easy and fast (8+ embolism curves per day) method to measure plant embolism requiring minimal plant material. Here, we provide detailed descriptions and recent technical improvements on the pneumatic method. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/52072-0 - Soil-plant-atmosphere interactions in a changing tropical landscape
• Grantee: Rafael Silva Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research Partnership for Technological Innovation - PITE
• FAPESP's process: 17/14075-3 - New methods to study xylem hydraulic properties and embolism in vivo in plants
• Grantee: Luciano Pereira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral