Effects of exogenous volatile organic compounds on phosphorus utilization in Cunninghamia lanceolata seedling roots under low phosphorus stress

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2024.0427

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims In order to explore the effect of root-derived volatile compounds from Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) on the growth of neighboring plants under low phosphorus stress, a controlled indoor pot experiment was conducted.
Methods One-year-old seedlings of the same clonal line of Chinese fir were selected as the study subjects. The experiment was designed with two phosphorus supply treatments: a sufficient phosphorus supply treatment (1.0 mmol·L^-1 KH₂PO₄) and a no phosphorus supply treatment (0 mmol·L^-1 KH₂PO₄). n-decane, as an exogenous volatile organic compound, was applied to each pot to simulate the release of volatile organic compounds from the roots of Chinese fir. This allowed the assessment of the impact of root-exuded volatile organic compounds on various growth-related parameters of neighboring plants, including root morphology, physiological traits, and molecular-level changes.
Important findings Compared to the sufficient phosphorus supply treatment, the addition of n-decane significantly affected the root morphological of Chinese fir seedlings under no phosphorus supply treatment. In particular, root length was decreased by 37.4%, dry mass was reduced by 29.3%, and specific surface area was increased by 54.1%. Proteomic analysis of the roots revealed that under phosphorus deficiency, the addition of n-decane increased the expression of glycine synthase (glutamate-glyoxylate aminotransferase) by 1.3-fold, while decreased the expression of glycine dehydrogenase (threonine aldolase) significantly by 33.3%, leading to a accumulation of glycine. Glycine played a crucial role in the adjustment of root morphology. Regarding phosphorus utilization, compared to the adequate phosphorus treatment, n-decane addition resulted in a significant decrease in root phosphorus content by 15.1% under phosphorus-deficient conditions, but an increase in root phosphorus use efficiency by 19.0%. In conclusion, the addition of n-decane not only significantly enhances the phosphorus use efficiency in Chinese fir roots but also influences the regulation of root morphology by modulating glycine levels, which improves the adaptability of Chinese fir seedlings to phosphorus deficiency stress.

Key words: phosphorus utilization strategies, low phosphorus stress, root volatile organic compounds, n-decane, Cunninghamia lanceolata

LI Ya-Chao, ZHANG Hui, XU Shan-Shan, LI Ming, MA Xiang-Qing, WU Peng-Fei. Effects of exogenous volatile organic compounds on phosphorus utilization in Cunninghamia lanceolata seedling roots under low phosphorus stress[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(10): 1744-1754.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2024.0427

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2025/V49/I10/1744

Figures/Tables 8

Table 1 Modified 1/4 Hoagland’s nutrient solution formulation

试剂 Reagent	浓度 Concentration (mmol·L^-1)
KNO₃	1.25
MgSO₄·7H₂O	0.50
Ca (NO₃)₂·4H₂O	1.25
FeEDTA	2.78 × 10^-5
H₃BO₃	1.16 × 10^-2
CuSO₄·5H₂O	7.50 × 10^-5
ZuSO₄·7H₂O	2.00 × 10^-4
MnCl₂·4H₂O	2.28 × 10^-3
H₂MO·4H₂O	1.00 × 10^-4

Fig. 1 Effects of addition of exogenous n-decane on root phosphorus content (A) and phosphorus use efficiency (B) of Cunninghamia lanceolata under different phosphorus supply levels (mean ± SE). P0, no phosphorus supply with n-decane treatment; P1, phosphorus supply with n-decane treatment. *, p < 0.05.

Fig. 2 Protein gel electrophoresis (A) and relative standard deviation analysis (B) of Cunninghamia lanceolata root proteomes under different treatments. M, standard molecular mass. P0, no phosphorus supply with n-decane treatment. P1, phosphorus supply with n-decane treatment.

Fig. 3 Number (A), GO functional classification (B) and subcellular localization (C) of differentially expressed protein (DEP) in Cunninghamia lanceolata root under different treatments.

Fig. 4 KOG (A), protein domain enrichment (B) and KEGG enrichment (C) of differentially expressed protein (DEP) in Chinese fir root under different treatments.

Fig. 5 Enrichment of differentially expressed protein (DEP) in glycine metabolism-related pathways (A) and the process of glycine-mediated activation of insoluble iron phosphate (B). The red arrow indicates that the DEP were up-regulated in P0 vs. P1, and the green arrow indicates that the DEP were down-regulated in P0 vs. P1. B cited from Trevisan et al. (2024). GGAT, glutamate-glyoxylate aminotransferase; HAO, (S)-2-hydroxy-acid oxidase; TA, threonine aldolase.

Fig. 6 Effects of addition of exogenous n-decane on height (A), diameter at ground height (B), root length (C), root surface area (D), dry mass (E), specific root length (F), specific surface area (G), and tissue density (H) of Chinese fir under different phosphorus supply levels (mean ± SE). P1, addition of n-decane under sufficient phosphorus supply; P0, addition of n-decane under phosphorus-deficient conditions. *, p < 0.05; ns, p ≥ 0.05.

Fig. 7 Correlation analysis between phosphorus use efficiency and each index of Chinese fir under different treatments. P1, addition of n-decane under sufficient phosphorus supply; P0, addition of n-decane under phosphorus-deficient conditions. *, p < 0.05. B, dry mass; GH, ground diameter; HS, height of seedling; PUE, phosphorus use efficiency; RL, root length; RSA, root surface area; SRT, specific root length; SSA, specific surface area; TD, tissue density.

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