Short-term changes of fructans in ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum 'Lema') in response to urban air pollutants and meteorological conditions

Author(s)

Sandrin, Carla Zuliani ; Leone Figueiredo-Ribeiro, Rita de Cassia ; Carvalho Delitti, Welington Braz ; Domingos, Marisa

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY; v. 96, p. 6-pg., 2013-10-01.

Abstract

We investigated whether the fructan content, a storage carbohydrate, of Lolium multiflorum 'Lema' plants grown in a subtropical urban environment characterized by typical diurnal profiles of air pollutants and meteorological conditions changed over the course of a day during different seasons. Plants were collected every 2 h on the last day of each two-month seasonal field experiment and separated into shoot (stubble or stubble+leaf blades) and roots for carbohydrate analyses and biomass determination. Diurnal contents of total fructose in the stubbles increased with high temperatures. In the roots, fructose accumulation showed a positive relation with hourly variations of both temperature and particulate matter and a negative relation with irradiance and SO2. Seasonal variation in shoot and root biomasses coincided with the seasonal variation of total fructose and were negatively affected by relative humidity and SO2, respectively. We concluded that hourly changes of fructans over the course of a day may increase the ability of L. multiflorum to tolerate short-term oscillations in weather and air pollution commonly observed in the subtropical urban environment, increasing its efficiency in monitoring air quality. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 00/06422-4 - Caesalpinia echinata Lam. (Brazil-wood): from seed to wood, a model for studies on tropical Brazilian trees
• Grantee: Rita de Cassia Leone Figueiredo Ribeiro
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• 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