Abstract
Purpose
Fructans are easily mobile storage carbohydrate in crops. In barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), a variable amount of fructans is stored in the stem or remobilized to the grain after flowering, which might be impacted by the photosynthetic performance. The aim of this work was to analyze the connection between photosynthetic performance, fructan content and activity of genes involved in the synthesis (1-SST, sucrose:sucrose-1-fructosyltransferase and 6-SFT, sucrose:fructan-6-fructosyltransferase) and remobilization (1-FEH, fructan 1-exohydrolase) of fructans at three developmental growth stages: flowering, grain filling and ripening stage in two spring barley cultivars differing in their yield.
Methods
Photosynthetic performance was assessed by using chlorophyll a fluorescence measurement expressed as total performance index (PItotal) and maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm), fructan content was determined spectrophotometrically using resorcinol reagent and gene activity by semi-quantitative RT-PCR.
Results
The PItotal was higher in cultivar Jaran than in Astor, indicating its better photosynthetic performance. Cultivar Jaran accumulated significantly less fructans in three basal internodes compared to cultivar Astor. Such observations could be explained by concurrent synthesis and remobilization and better sink strength in cultivar Jaran due to congruent expression of genes regulating biosynthesis and fructan remobilization. On the other hand, the higher fructan content in basal internodes of cultivar Astor could possibly be the consequence of lower expression of 1-FEH gene responsible for fructan remobilization.
Conclusion
Our results showed that fructan synthesis and remobilization to the grain are dependent on synchronized activity of regulatory genes, indicating a strong influence of photosynthetic performance and genotype.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the Agricultural Institute in Osijek for allowing us to sample plant material from experimental fields. We are grateful to A. Škiljaica and L. Neal for English style and grammar improvement. This study was supported by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, Republic of Croatia Grants Nos. 073-0731674-0841 and 073-0731674-0550) and the University of Zagreb (grant number 202688).
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LB wrote the manuscript. LB, PL and TP performed the experiments. LB and IŠČ analyzed the data. VC and DLL reviewed the manuscript. The final manuscript was read and approved by all authors.
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Begović, L., Pospihalj, T., Lončarić, P. et al. Distinct accumulation and remobilization of fructans in barley cultivars contrasting for photosynthetic performance and yield. Theor. Exp. Plant Physiol. 32, 109–120 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40626-020-00174-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40626-020-00174-x