title: Mechanisms of boron tolerance and accumulation in plants: a physiological comparison of the extremely boron-tolerant plant species, Puccinellia distans, with the moderately boron-tolerant Gypsophila arrostil.
abstract: The physiological characteristics of the extremely boron (B)-tolerant plant species, Puccinellia distans, were compared with those of the moderately tolerant Gypsophila arrostil, two species collected from a B-mining area of Eskişehir, Turkey. Boron was supplied to plants hydroponically at B concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 50 mg B/L for G. arrostil, and from 0.5 to 2000 mg B/L for P. distans. The results show that P. distans has a strikingly greater tolerance to B than G. arrostil. While G. arrostil was unable to survive B supply concentrations greater than 50 mg B/L, P. distans grew at B supply concentrations exceeding 1250 mg B/L. Our research supports the conclusion that from 0.5 to 50 mg B/L, P. distans is better able to restrict the accumulation of B in the whole plant, and the transport of B from root to shoot, than G. arrostil. We propose that P. distans uses several strategies to achieve B tolerance including the ability to restrict the accumulation of B relative to its accumulation of biomass, the ability to restrict the transport of B from root to shoot, and, to a lesser extent, the ability to tolerate high concentrations of B in its shoot and root tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3102, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Stiles
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bautista
authors.forename: Emine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Atalay
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Babaoğlu
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Terry
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects*; D018533:Biomass; D001895:Boron / Q000494:pharmacology*; D029748:Caryophyllaceae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006109:Poaceae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001895:Boron