Abstract
Biosilica accumulation in plant tissues is related to the transpiration stream, which in turn depends on water availability. Nevertheless, the debate on whether genetically and environmentally controlled mechanisms of biosilica deposition are directly connected to water availability is still open. We aim at clarifying the system which leads to the deposition of biosilica in Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum glaucum, and Eleusine coracana, expanding our understanding of the physiological role of silicon in crops well-adapted to arid environments, and simultaneously advancing the research in archaeological and paleoenvironmental studies. We cultivated ten traditional landraces for each crop in lysimeters, simulating irrigated and rain-fed scenarios in arid contexts. The percentage of biosilica accumulated in leaves indicates that both well-watered millet species deposited more biosilica than the water-stressed ones. By contrast, sorghum accumulated more biosilica with respect to the other two species, and biosilica accumulation was independent of the water regime. The water treatment alone did not explain either the variability of the assemblage or the differences in the biosilica accumulation. Hence, we hypothesize that genetics influence the variability substantially. These results demonstrate that biosilica accumulation differs among and within C4 species and that water availability is not the only driver in this process.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Well-watered millet accumulated more leaf biosilica than water-stressed millet.
- Taxon
- Pennisetum glaucum
Cenchrus americanuse1 - Treatment
- well-waterede0
- Outcome
- biosilicae0
- Direction
- moree0
- Comparator
- water-stressede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“both well-watered millet species deposited more biosilica than the water-stressed ones”
e1“Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum glaucum, and Eleusine coracana”
Claim · model-written summary
The second millet species accumulated more biosilica when well watered.
- Taxon
- Eleusine coracana
Eleusine coracanae1 - Treatment
- well-waterede0
- Outcome
- biosilicae0
- Direction
- moree0
- Comparator
- water-stressede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“both well-watered millet species deposited more biosilica than the water-stressed ones”
e1“Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum glaucum, and Eleusine coracana”
Claim · model-written summary
Sorghum accumulated more biosilica than the other two species.
SorghumOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sorghum accumulated more biosilica with respect to the other two species”
Claim · model-written summary
Sorghum biosilica accumulation was independent of water regime.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“biosilica accumulation was independent of the water regime”
e1“Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum glaucum, and Eleusine coracana”
Claim · model-written summary
Water treatment alone did not explain assemblage variability or biosilica differences.
- Taxon
- Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum glaucum, and Eleusine coracanaEleusine coracanaCenchrus americanus
Sorghum bicolore1 - Treatment
- water treatmente0
- Outcome
- variability of the assemblage or the differences in the biosilica accumulatione0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The water treatment alone did not explain either the variability of the assemblage or the differences in the biosilica accumulation”
e1“Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum glaucum, and Eleusine coracana”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors hypothesize that genetics substantially influences biosilica variability.
- Taxon
- Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum glaucum, and Eleusine coracanaEleusine coracanaCenchrus americanusSorghum bicolore1
- Outcome
- variabilitye0
- Qualifier
- geneticse0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“we hypothesize that genetics influence the variability substantially”
e1“Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum glaucum, and Eleusine coracana”
The same questions in other papers
irrigation · molecular: metabolites · SorghumPositive and negative results
3 papers in the same direction as this paper · 3 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
3 papers more in this group
See all 7 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.