Responses of Radial and Axial Hydraulic Resistances in Maize Root to Nitrogen Availability

Abstract

One of the important physiological mechanisms of nitrogen (N) deficiency inhibiting plant shoot growth may be related with its impacts on root hydraulic resistance. Hence, effects of N deficiency on root radial and axial hydraulic resistances of maize were studied in this study with potometer and anatomical methods, respectively. The results indicated that N deficiency increased root radial hydraulic resistance of the apical zone under both high and low transpiration and axial hydraulic resistance more than 6 cm from the root tip. Root radial hydraulic resistance of N deficiency treatment was insensitive to aquaporin inhibitor mercuric chloride (HgCl₂), but radial hydraulic resistance of normal N use treatment was sensitive to HgCl₂ under low photosynthetic photo flux density (PPFD). This suggested that the decrease of water transport across Hg‐sensitive transcellular pathway might be an important reason for the increase of radial hydraulic resistance on low N availability roots under a low hydrostatic gradient. The increase of axial hydraulic resistance more than 6 cm from the root tip under N deficiency was closely related with the decreased number and the smaller diameters of mature metaxylems.

Keywords:

• Maize
• Nitrogen
• Root hydraulic resistances

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by National Key Basic Research Special Foundation Project (No. G2000018605) and Chinese National Science Foundation Grant (No. 40001010).