Leaf Carbon and Water Isotopes Correlate with Leaf Hydraulic Traits in Three Solanum Species ( S. peruvianum, S. lycopersicum and S. chilense )

Diego Barrera-Ayala, Gerardo Tapia and Juan Pedro Ferrio ()
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Diego Barrera-Ayala: Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4070386, Chile
Gerardo Tapia: Unidad de Recursos Genéticos Vegetales, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIA-Quilamapu, Chillán 3800062, Chile
Juan Pedro Ferrio: Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4070386, Chile

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Leaf hydraulic conductance ( K Leaf ) is a measure of the efficiency of water transport through the leaf, which determines physiological parameters such as stomatal conductance, photosynthesis and transpiration rates. One key anatomical structure that supports K Leaf is leaf venation, which could be subject to evolutionary pressure in dry environments. In this context, it is useful to assess these traits in species from arid climates such as S. peruvianum and S. chilense , in order to determine their hydraulic strategy and potential aptitude for the improvement of domestic tomato ( S. lycopersicum ). In this work, we measured K Leaf , vein density, together with leaf water isotope composition (δ 18 O, δ 2 H) and leaf carbon isotope composition (δ 13 C), from which we derived proxies for outside-vein hydraulic resistance ( R ox ) and intrinsic water use efficiency (WUE i ), respectively. The two wild species showed contrasting hydraulic strategies, with S. chilense performing as a water-spender, whereas S. peruvianum showed a water-saving strategy. Interestingly, S. lycopersicum was rather conservative, and showed the highest WUE i . The low water transport capacity of S. peruvianum was not explained by vein density traits, but was related with the effective pathlength L , an isotope-derived proxy for R ox . The low WUE i of S. peruvianum suggest strong photosynthetic limitations. Our results show a wide diversity in water-use strategies in the genus, encouraging a detailed characterization of wild relatives. From a methodological point of view, we provide evidence supporting the use of water isotopes to assess changes in mesophyll hydraulic conductance, not attributable to vein density.

Keywords: leaf hydraulic conductance; vein density; stable isotopes; leaf water enrichment; effective pathlength L; carbon isotope discrimination; wild relatives; tomato; water use efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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