U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Chemistry Research: Gainesville, FL
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Southeast Area Gainesville, Florida Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology Chemistry Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            MARTINS, VITOR - University Of Floridaitem
                                            Vaughan, Marthaitem
                                            CALLIS, KRISTINE - University Of Floridaitem
                                            Teal, Peter
  Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
                                    Publication Type: Abstract Only
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 11/13/2011
                                    Publication  Date: N/A
                                    Citation: N/AInterpretive Summary:
                                Technical Abstract: Global climate change is expected to alter various abiotic factors, of which precipitation patterns is of most concern. When plants experience stress, the optimal defense theory suggests that plants will use their energy on defending the more vital plant tissues. For example, to a plant experiencing drought stress, the roots may be the more vital tissue. Phytoalexins are produced in response to the infection of fungal pathogens. Surprisingly, we found that phytoalexins were induced in uninfected roots of Zea mays var. 'Golden Queen' plants in response to drought stress. We hypothesized that defense resources were being allocated to the roots in anticipation of a possible pathogen infection. We designed a study to test if we could divert the drought induced reallocation of resources to the roots by increasing the value and risk of attack on the aboveground parts of the plant. In order to do this we introduced two additional stress factors: limited light and pathogen infection. This was done by placing drought stressed maize in a partially shaded environment and infecting the stock with the fungal pathogen Fusarium verticillioides. The roots were then analyzed for the production of phytoalexins. Drought stressed roots of pathogen infected plants still had significantly more phytoalexins than watered plants; however, the pathogen infection reduced the phytoalexin accumulation. Shading had minimal effect on the drought stress induction of phytoalexins in the roots. Our results suggest that the induction of phytoalexins in drought stressed roots is an allocation of resources to roots, signifying that during drought stress alone the roots are the most valuable tissue. Severe aboveground pathogen infection can reduce but not eliminate the allocation of resources to the roots. Furthermore, conditions of limited light did not increase the value of the leaves enough to reduce the importance of roots during drought stress.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov