Key message

Juniperus communis males are better adapted than females to changing, seasonal environmental conditions due to their higher photosynthetic capacity and the higher concentration of photosynthetic pigments in their needles. Males cope with ROS more efficiently than females having greater carotenoids concentration in needles.

Abstract

In dioecious woody plants, females often exhibit greater reproductive effort than male plants and as a result, they can be more vulnerable to different stressors. We hypothesized that female plants of J. communis L. could have a lower photochemical capacity and a higher level of antioxidant enzyme activity and that these differences between males and females would be more pronounced under conditions where nutrient availability is limited. We also assume that additional stressors connected with different seasons would increase those differences. Male and female plants of J. communis growing in fertilized or non-fertilized soils were used to test this hypothesis. The effect of fertilization and sex on photochemical parameters derived from chlorophyll a fluorescence light curves, and on the concentrations of photosynthetic pigments in needles, was determined in different seasons within 2 years. To assess the tolerance of male and female plants to the nutrient deficit, antioxidant enzyme activity, and the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined. Results revealed sex-related differences in photochemical parameters, level of antioxidant enzyme activity, H₂O₂ levels, the concentration of photosynthetic pigments, and in the leaf mass-to-area ratio. This indicates that J. communis males could be better adapted than females to changing, seasonal environmental conditions due to their higher photosynthetic capacity, as reflected by their higher ETR_max, and a higher concentration of photosynthetic pigments in their needles. The sex-related differences concerning photosynthetic capacity and stress response found in our study are constitutive traits of each sex and are genetically based as they occurred independently of fertilization.

中文翻译：

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男性和女性杜鹃的光化学不同，与营养供应无关

关键信息

由于其较高的光合作用能力和针叶中较高的光合色素浓度，男性杜松比男性更能适应不断变化的季节性环境条件。男性比针中类胡萝卜素浓度更高的女性更有效地应对ROS。

抽象

在雌雄异株的木本植物中，雌性通常比雄性植物表现出更大的繁殖力，因此，它们可能更容易受到不同胁迫的影响。我们假设，J。communis L.的雌性植物可能具有较低的光化学能力和较高的抗氧化酶活性水平，并且在养分利用率有限的条件下，雄性和雌性之间的这些差异会更加明显。我们还假设与不同季节相关的额外压力源会增加这些差异。使用在受精或未受肥土壤中生长的J. communis的雄性和雌性植物来检验该假设。施肥和性别对叶绿素a光化学参数的影响在2年内的不同季节确定了荧光曲线以及针中光合色素的浓度。为了评估雄性和雌性植物对营养缺乏的耐受性，确定了抗氧化酶活性和活性氧水平（ROS）。结果表明，在光化学参数，抗氧化酶活性水平，H ₂ O ₂水平，光合色素浓度以及叶质量与面积比方面，存在性别相关的差异。这表明，由于其较高的ETR _max，较高的光合作用能力使Communis J. communis的雄性比雌性更能适应变化的季节性环境条件。以及针叶中较高浓度的光合色素。我们研究中发现的与性别相关的关于光合作用能力和应激反应的差异是每种性别的本构特征，并且是基于遗传的，因为它们独立于受精而发生。