Abstract
To investigate the relationship between growth, biomass partitioning and lignification we used tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) in which O-methyl transferase (OMT) activity, an enzyme involved in the pathway of sinapyl alcohol formation for lignin synthesis, was suppressed by antisense transformation. To modulate growth, controls and transformed tobacco plants were grown under ambient (approximately 380 p.p.m) or elevated CO(2) (700 p.p.m), respectively. Lignin concentrations and composition were determined with spectrophotometric methods (thioglycolate and acetyl bromide) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, respectively. A comparison of the thioglycolate and acetylbromide method suggested that the thioglycolate method was sensitive to changes in the syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G)-ratio in lignin and therefore not suitable for quantification in tissues with altered lignin composition. Growth under elevated CO(2) increased leaf and stem biomass of both genotypes by 40 and 20%, respectively, compared with ambient CO(2) and had no effect on root biomass. OMT suppression did not affect lignin concentrations in the leaves but caused a shift in biomass partitioning from the structural to the non-structural fraction. Elevated CO(2) caused a shift towards production of structural compounds resulting in decreased foliar lignin concentrations and indicating that the lignin/structural mass ratio is flexible in leaves. By contrast, the lignin concentrations of stems were unaffected by elevated CO(2) or OMT suppression and increased about three-fold from the apex to the base. Antisense-OMT plants produced more stem biomass than controls but showed no changes of the relative partitioning of biomass to the different pools. This indicates that the metabolic control of carbon fluxes to the production of structural versus non-structural fractions is tighter in stems than in leaves. FTIR spectroscopy indicated a relative increase in guaiacyl- as compared with syringyl-units in antisense-OMT tobacco, which was more pronounced under elevated as compared with ambient CO(2). Since there was no evidence for decreased lignin concentrations in the antisense-OMT plants but increased biomass formation we suggest that less methylated lignins are 'cheaper' in biosynthetic carbon and energy demand and, thus, may enable plants to allocate increased resources to growth.
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Claims 15
Claim · model-written summary
The thioglycolate method was sensitive to changes in lignin S/G ratio and unsuitable for altered lignin composition.
- Taxon
- tobacco
Nicotiana tabacumt0 - Outcome
- quantificatione0
- Qualifier
- altered lignin compositione0
- Comparator
- acetylbromide methode1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the thioglycolate method was sensitive to changes in the syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G)-ratio in lignin and therefore not suitable for quantification in tissues with altered lignin composition”
t0“tobacco”
e1“thioglycolate and acetylbromide method”
Claim · model-written summary
Elevated CO2 increased leaf biomass by 40% compared with ambient CO2.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Organ / stage
- leafe0
- Treatment
- elevated CO(2)e0
- Outcome
- leaf and stem biomasse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 40e0
- Comparator
- ambient CO(2)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Growth under elevated CO(2) increased leaf and stem biomass of both genotypes by 40 and 20%, respectively, compared with ambient CO(2)”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
Elevated CO2 increased stem biomass by 20% compared with ambient CO2.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Organ / stage
- steme0
- Treatment
- elevated CO(2)e0
- Outcome
- stem biomasse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 20%e0
- Comparator
- ambient CO(2)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Growth under elevated CO(2) increased leaf and stem biomass of both genotypes by 40 and 20%, respectively, compared with ambient CO(2)”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
Elevated CO2 had no effect on root biomass.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- elevated CO(2)e1
- Outcome
- root biomasse0
- Direction
- no effecte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“had no effect on root biomass”
t0“tobacco”
e1“Growth under elevated CO(2)”
Claim · model-written summary
OMT suppression did not affect leaf lignin concentrations.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- OMT suppressione0
- Gene
- OMTe0
- Outcome
- lignin concentrations in the leavese0
- Direction
- did not affecte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“OMT suppression did not affect lignin concentrations in the leaves”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
OMT suppression shifted biomass from structural to non-structural fraction.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- OMT suppressione0
- Gene
- OMTe0
- Outcome
- biomass partitioninge0
- Direction
- shifte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“OMT suppression did not affect lignin concentrations in the leaves but caused a shift in biomass partitioning from the structural to the non-structural fraction”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
Elevated CO2 shifted production toward structural compounds.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- Elevated CO(2)e0
- Outcome
- production of structural compoundse0
- Direction
- shifte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Elevated CO(2) caused a shift towards production of structural compounds”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
Elevated CO2 decreased foliar lignin concentrations.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- Elevated CO(2)e0
- Outcome
- foliar lignin concentrationse0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Elevated CO(2) caused a shift towards production of structural compounds resulting in decreased foliar lignin concentrations”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
Stem lignin concentrations were unaffected by elevated CO2.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- elevated CO(2)e0
- Outcome
- lignin concentrations of stemse0
- Direction
- unaffectede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“lignin concentrations of stems were unaffected by elevated CO(2) or OMT suppression”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
Stem lignin concentrations were unaffected by OMT suppression.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- OMT suppressione0
- Outcome
- lignin concentrations of stemse0
- Direction
- unaffectede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“lignin concentrations of stems were unaffected by elevated CO(2) or OMT suppression”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
Stem lignin concentrations increased about three-fold from apex to base.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Organ / stage
- stemse1
- Outcome
- lignin concentrations of stemse1
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- three-folde0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“increased about three-fold from the apex to the base”
t0“tobacco”
e1“lignin concentrations of stems”
Claim · model-written summary
Antisense-OMT plants produced more stem biomass than controls.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- Antisense-OMTe0
- Gene
- OMTe0
- Outcome
- stem biomasse0
- Direction
- moree0
- Comparator
- controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Antisense-OMT plants produced more stem biomass than controls”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
Antisense-OMT plants had no change in relative biomass partitioning.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- Antisense-OMTe0
- Gene
- OMTe0
- Outcome
- relative partitioning of biomasse0
- Direction
- no changese0
- Comparator
- controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Antisense-OMT plants produced more stem biomass than controls but showed no changes of the relative partitioning of biomass to the different pools”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
Antisense-OMT tobacco had relatively more guaiacyl than syringyl units, especially under elevated CO2.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Treatment
- antisense-OMTe0
- Gene
- OMTe0
- Outcome
- guaiacyl-e0
- Direction
- relative increasee0
- Qualifier
- more pronounced under elevated as compared with ambient CO(2)e0
- Comparator
- syringyl-unitse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a relative increase in guaiacyl- as compared with syringyl-units in antisense-OMT tobacco, which was more pronounced under elevated as compared with ambient CO(2)”
t0“tobacco”
Claim · model-written summary
Less methylated lignin may require less carbon and energy and enable increased growth.
- Taxon
- tobaccoNicotiana tabacumt0
- Outcome
- growthe0
- Qualifier
- 'cheaper' in biosynthetic carbon and energy demande0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“less methylated lignins are 'cheaper' in biosynthetic carbon and energy demand and, thus, may enable plants to allocate increased resources to growth”
t0“tobacco”
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