title: Drought stress memory in the photosynthetic mechanisms of an invasive CAM species, Aptenia cordifolia.
abstract: Plants are known for their high capacity to acclimatise to fluctuating environmental conditions. A wide range of environmental conditions can lead to suboptimal physiological efficiency. However, recent studies have shown that plants can withstand repeated periods of stress. To find out how they do it, we studied photosynthetic adjustments to repeated water stress in Aptenia cordifolia: a facultative, invasive CAM species. Plants were subjected to three cycles of water deficit, and photosynthetic parameters and chloroplast antioxidants were quantified to gain an understanding of the mechanisms by which they cope with repeated stress periods. Significant modification of the photosystems' antenna and reaction centres was observed in plants subjected to previous water stress cycles, and this led to higher PSII efficiency than in plants challenged with drought for the first time. These findings underline the biological significance of stress memory and show how plants can adjust their photosynthetic apparatus to fluctuating environmental conditions and thus optimise photosynthesis and photoprotection under drought conditions.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Vegetal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. marta.pinto.marijuan@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pintó-Marijuan
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Vegetal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cotado
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Vegetal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fleta-Soriano
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Vegetal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sergi
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6523-6848
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Munné-Bosch
mesh_terms: D029748:Caryophyllaceae / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D055864:Droughts; D005453:Fluorescence; D058865:Introduced Species; D010788:Photosynthesis; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D024505:Tocopherols / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010860:Pigments, Biological; D002734:Chlorophyll; D024505:Tocopherols
keywords: Abiotic stress; Chloroplast pigments; Crassulacean acid metabolism; Photoprotection; Photosynthesis; Vitamin E