Revisiting an ecophysiological oddity: Hydathode-mediated foliar water uptake in Crassula species from southern Africa
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Revisiting an ecophysiological oddity : Hydathode-mediated foliar water uptake in Crassula species from southern Africa. / Fradera-Soler, Marc; Mravec, Jozef; Schulz, Alexander; Taboryski, Rafael; Jørgensen, Bodil; Grace, Olwen M.
In: Plant Cell and Environment, Vol. 47, No. 2, 2024, p. 460-481.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Revisiting an ecophysiological oddity
T2 - Hydathode-mediated foliar water uptake in Crassula species from southern Africa
AU - Fradera-Soler, Marc
AU - Mravec, Jozef
AU - Schulz, Alexander
AU - Taboryski, Rafael
AU - Jørgensen, Bodil
AU - Grace, Olwen M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Plant, Cell & Environment published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Hydathodes are usually associated with water exudation in plants. However, foliar water uptake (FWU) through the hydathodes has long been suspected in the leaf-succulent genus Crassula (Crassulaceae), a highly diverse group in southern Africa, and, to our knowledge, no empirical observations exist in the literature that unequivocally link FWU to hydathodes in this genus. FWU is expected to be particularly beneficial on the arid western side of southern Africa, where up to 50% of Crassula species occur and where periodically high air humidity leads to fog and/or dew formation. To investigate if hydathode-mediated FWU is operational in different Crassula species, we used the apoplastic fluorescent tracer Lucifer Yellow in combination with different imaging techniques. Our images of dye-treated leaves confirm that hydathode-mediated FWU does indeed occur in Crassula and that it might be widespread across the genus. Hydathodes in Crassula serve as moisture-harvesting structures, besides their more common purpose of guttation, an adaptation that has likely played an important role in the evolutionary history of the genus. Our observations suggest that ability for FWU is independent of geographical distribution and not restricted to arid environments under fog influence, as FWU is also operational in Crassula species from the rather humid eastern side of southern Africa. Our observations point towards no apparent link between FWU ability and overall leaf surface wettability in Crassula. Instead, the hierarchically sculptured leaf surfaces of several Crassula species may facilitate FWU due to hydrophilic leaf surface microdomains, even in seemingly hydrophobic species. Overall, these results confirm the ecophysiological relevance of hydathode-mediated FWU in Crassula and reassert the importance of atmospheric humidity for some arid-adapted plant groups.
AB - Hydathodes are usually associated with water exudation in plants. However, foliar water uptake (FWU) through the hydathodes has long been suspected in the leaf-succulent genus Crassula (Crassulaceae), a highly diverse group in southern Africa, and, to our knowledge, no empirical observations exist in the literature that unequivocally link FWU to hydathodes in this genus. FWU is expected to be particularly beneficial on the arid western side of southern Africa, where up to 50% of Crassula species occur and where periodically high air humidity leads to fog and/or dew formation. To investigate if hydathode-mediated FWU is operational in different Crassula species, we used the apoplastic fluorescent tracer Lucifer Yellow in combination with different imaging techniques. Our images of dye-treated leaves confirm that hydathode-mediated FWU does indeed occur in Crassula and that it might be widespread across the genus. Hydathodes in Crassula serve as moisture-harvesting structures, besides their more common purpose of guttation, an adaptation that has likely played an important role in the evolutionary history of the genus. Our observations suggest that ability for FWU is independent of geographical distribution and not restricted to arid environments under fog influence, as FWU is also operational in Crassula species from the rather humid eastern side of southern Africa. Our observations point towards no apparent link between FWU ability and overall leaf surface wettability in Crassula. Instead, the hierarchically sculptured leaf surfaces of several Crassula species may facilitate FWU due to hydrophilic leaf surface microdomains, even in seemingly hydrophobic species. Overall, these results confirm the ecophysiological relevance of hydathode-mediated FWU in Crassula and reassert the importance of atmospheric humidity for some arid-adapted plant groups.
KW - arid environments
KW - atmospheric water
KW - Crassula
KW - foliar water uptake
KW - hydathodes
KW - southern Africa
KW - succulent plants
KW - wettability
U2 - 10.1111/pce.14743
DO - 10.1111/pce.14743
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 37876364
AN - SCOPUS:85174584924
VL - 47
SP - 460
EP - 481
JO - Plant, Cell and Environment
JF - Plant, Cell and Environment
SN - 0140-7791
IS - 2
ER -
ID: 372964317