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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 35(3)

The sensitivity of photosynthesis to phosphorus deficiency differs between C3 and C4 tropical grasses

Oula Ghannoum A D , Matthew J. Paul B , Jane L. Ward C , Michael H. Beale C , Delia-Irina Corol C and Jann P. Conroy A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Plant and Food Science, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, South Penrith DC, South Penrith, NSW 1797, Australia.

B Centre for Crop Genetic Improvement, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK.

C National Centre for Plant and Microbial Metabolomics, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK.

D Corresponding author. Email: o.ghannoum@uws.edu.au

Functional Plant Biology 35(3) 213-221 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP07256
Submitted: 31 October 2007  Accepted: 13 February 2008   Published: 23 April 2008

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is an important determinant of plant productivity, particularly in the tropical grasslands of Australia, which contain both C3 and C4 species. Few studies have compared the responses of such species to P deficiency. Previous work led us to hypothesise that C3 photosynthesis and the three subtypes of C4 photosynthesis have different sensitivities to P deficiency. To examine their dynamic response to P deficiency in more detail, four taxonomically related tropical grasses (Panicum laxum (C3) and Panicum coloratum, Cenchrus ciliaris and Panicum maximum belonging to the C4 subtypes NAD-ME, NADP-ME and PCK, respectively) were grown under contrasting P supplies, including P withdrawal from the growing medium. Changes in photosynthesis and growth were compared with leaf carbohydrate contents and metabolic fingerprints obtained using high-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). The response of CO2 assimilation rates to leaf contents of inorganic phosphate ([Pi]) was linear in the C3 grass, but asymptotic for the three C4 grasses. Relative growth rate was affected most by low P in the C3 species and was correlated with the leaf content of glucose 6-phosphate more than with carbohydrates. Principal component analysis of the 1H-NMR spectra revealed distinctive profiles of carbohydrates and amino acids for the four species. Overall, the data showed that photosynthesis of the three C4 subtypes behaved similarly. Compared with the C3 counterpart, photosynthesis of the three C4 grasses had a higher P use efficiency and lower Pi requirement, and responded to a narrower range of [Pi]. Although each of the four grass species showed distinctive 1H-NMR fingerprints, there were no differences in response that could be attributed to the C4 subtypes.

Additional keyword: 1H-NMR metabolomics.


Acknowledgements

We thank Susanne von Caemmerer for critical reading of the manuscript. This research was supported by a Discovery Grant awarded to J. P. Conroy and M. J. Paul by the Australian Research Council, and an International Research Initiative Grant awarded to O. Ghannoum by the University of Western Sydney. Rothamsted Research receives grant-aided support from the Biotechnological and Biological Sciences Research Council of the United Kingdom.


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