Arid Zone Research ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (10): 1753-1766.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2024.10.13

• Plant Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of precipitation and nitrogen deposition on transgenerational plasticity in alternate generations of Erodium oxyrhinchum

SHA Tao1,2,3(), ZHANG Lingwei4(), LIU Huiliang2,3,5,6, ZHANG Lan2,3,5, LU Yuting2,3,5, ZHOU Xinyu2,3,5, WEN Xiaohu2, ZHANG Yuanming2,3,5   

  1. 1. College of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, Xinjiang, China
    2. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
    3. Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Application in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830000, Xinjiang, China
    4. College of Life Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, Xinjiang, China
    5. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    6. Xinjiang Field Scientific Observation Research Station of Tianshan Wild Fruit Forest Ecosystem, Yili Botanical Garden, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinyuan 835800, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2024-04-21 Revised:2024-05-15 Online:2024-10-15 Published:2024-10-14
  • Contact: ZHANG Lingwei E-mail:1796379306@qq.com;zlwlz@163.com

Abstract:

Transgenerational plasticity is an effective method to protect offspring from environmental stress, buffering the impact of environmental changes on the offspring by increasing the probability of matching the offspring with the environment and improving the adaptability of the offspring to the environment in which they live. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the transgenerational differences in the response of ephemeral plants to climatic factors from the perspective of their physiological and biochemical indexes and to elucidate the effects of climatic factors on the physiological plasticity of desert ephemeral plants in transgenerational periods. For this purpose, we used Erodium oxyrhinchum, a dominant species of annual ephemeral plants with rapid growth and development and sensitive response to the environment, in combination with water and nitrogen increase treatments. We also clarified the effect of climatic factors on the physiological plasticity of desert ephemeral plants across generations. Results showed that (1) the water addition treatment significantly increased the soluble sugar (SS) content of two generations of plants, the remaining physiological indexes exhibited transgenerational differences, and the soluble protein (SP), SS, and peroxidase (POD) exhibited transgenerational adaptations under the water addition treatment. (2) The nitrogen enrichment treatment significantly inhibited the production of superoxide dismutase (SOD), POD, catalase (CAT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the parental plants and inhibited the production of CAT and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the offspring plants, and the contents of SP, SOD, and POD exhibited transgenerational adaptations. (3) The water-nitrogen interaction treatment significantly promoted the production of POD, CAT, and ROS in the progeny plants but significantly suppressed the production of SOD. The production of SOD and POD was promoted, and that of CAT, MDA, and ROS was inhibited in offspring plants. SP and POD were spaced-adapted under the water-nitrogen interaction treatment. Overall, precipitation and nitrogen deposition exerted a significant effect on the transgenerational physiological plasticity of E. oxyrhinchum, and the physiological and biochemical indexes of E. oxyrhinchum exhibited different response differences to the treatment of water increase, nitrogen increase, and water-nitrogen interactions. Increased precipitation and nitrogen deposition in the future may alter the ecological adaptive capacity and strategy of the descendants of E. oxyrhinchum, which may in turn alter the future development trend of their populations.

Key words: precipitation, nitrogen deposition, ephemeral plant, Erodium oxyrhinchum, transgenerational physiological plasticity