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Gender-related differences in adaptability to drought stress in the dioecious tree Ginkgo biloba

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Abstract

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) as a precious relict plant is cultivated around the world, and it is also a typical dioecious tree. Drought is a major environmental stress that limits the growth and development of ginkgo. Although many studies have examined the impact of drought on ginkgo, few have investigated gender-related under drought treatment in the species. In our research, we examined comparative morphology, physiology and the ultrastructure of mesophyll cell in male and female ginkgoes to determine which gender shows superior adaptability to drought stress. Two-year-old cutting-propagated male and female ginkgoes suffered to drought treatment. The experiments showed that drought significantly limited growth and development, disrupted photosynthesis, and destoried the antioxidant protection system in both male and female ginkgoes. When the gender differences in the species were compared, females showed better growth, activities of SOD and POD, concentrations of chl t, chl a/b ratio and proline, P n, C i, g s, qP and NPQ under drought, but lower concentrations of H2O2 and O2 −, and relative electrolyte leakage. In the aspect of cell ultrastructure, female plants showed a slower rate of cell breakdown and chloroplast decomposition under drought stress than males. The results indicate that female plants of ginkgo show superior growth performance and self-protective mechanisms and higher photosynthetic capacity than male plants under drought stress. Thus, we conclude that female individuals of ginkgo possess better adaptability to drought stress than male individuals.

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Abbreviations

RWC:

Relative water content

REL:

Relative electrolyte leakage

Chl t :

Total chlorophyll

Chl a/b :

Chlorophyll a/b ratio

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

POD:

Peroxidase

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

PSII:

Photosystem II

Fv/Fm :

Maximum PSII photochemical efficiency

qP:

Photochemical quenching coefficient

NPQ:

Non-photochemical quenching coefficient

P n :

Net photosynthetic rate

C i :

Intercellular CO2 concentration

g s :

Stomatal conductance

OD:

Optical density

WUEi :

Intrinsic water use efficiency

WUE:

Water use efficiency

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

DAD:

Days after drought

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation (31300572); Innovation Project of Jiangsu Postgraduate Education (KYZZ-0248); The Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu High Education Institutions (PAPD); The Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Fund of Jiangsu Province in China [cx(13)5002] and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20130708).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Biology and the Environment, Nan**g Forestry University, Nan**g, 210037, Jiangsu, China

    Mei He, Dawei Shi, Tao Wang & Yinfeng **e

  2. Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nan**g Forestry University, Nan**g, 210037, Jiangsu, China

    Mei He, Dawei Shi, Tao Wang & Yinfeng **e

  3. Jiangxi Academy of Forestry, Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China

    Mei He & Yuan Hu

  4. Institute of Food Crops, Jiangsu High Quality Rice R&D Center, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nan**g, Jiangsu, 210014, China

    **aodong Wei

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  1. Mei He
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  2. Dawei Shi
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  3. **aodong Wei
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  4. Yuan Hu
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Correspondence to Yinfeng **e.

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Communicated by L Bavaresco.

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He, M., Shi, D., Wei, X. et al. Gender-related differences in adaptability to drought stress in the dioecious tree Ginkgo biloba . Acta Physiol Plant 38, 124 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-016-2148-0

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