A balanced polymorphism in biomass resource allocation controlled by phosphate in grasses screened through arsenate tolerance

Bayezid Mahmud Khan, Claire Deacon, Caroline Meharg, Gareth John Norton, David Johnson, Andrew A. Meharg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The response of arsenate and non-tolerant Holcus lanatus L. phenotypes, where tolerance is achieved through suppression of high affinity phosphate/arsenate root uptake, was investigated under different growth regimes to investigate why there is a polymorphism in tolerance found in populations growing on uncontaminated soil. Tolerant plants screened from an arsenic uncontaminated population differed, when grown on the soil from the populations origin, from non-tolerants, in their biomass allocation under phosphate fertilization: non-tolerants put more resources into tiller production and down regulated investment in root production under phosphate fertilization while tolerants tillered less effectively and did not alter resource allocation to shoot biomass under phosphate fertilization. The two phenotypes also differed in their shoot mineral status having higher concentrations of copper, cadmium, lead and manganese, but phosphorus status differed little, suggesting tight homeostasis. The polymorphism was also widely present (40%) in other wild grass species suggesting an important ecological role for this gene that can be screened through plant root response to arsenate.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)43-51
Number of pages9
JournalEnvironmental and Experimental Botany
Volume96
Early online date18 Sept 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2013

Keywords

  • arsenic
  • balanced polymorphism
  • biomass allocation
  • Holcus lanatus
  • phosphate
  • tolerance

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