Skip to main content
PMC home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1987 Dec;85(4):1143–1145. doi: 10.1104/pp.85.4.1143

Carbon Isotope Ratios Demonstrate Carbon Flux from C4 Host to C3 Parasite 1

Malcolm C Press 1, Nishith Shah 1, Janet M Tuohy 1, George R Stewart 1
PMCID: PMC1054408  PMID: 16665818

Abstract

Carbon isotope ratios of mature leaves from the C3 angiosperm root hemiparasites Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth (−26.7‰) and S. asiatica (L.) Kuntze (−25.6‰) were more negative than their C4 host, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench cv CSH1), (−13.5‰). However, in young photosynthetically incompetent plants of S. hermonthica this difference was reduced to less than 1‰. Differences between the carbon isotope ratios of two C3-C3 associations, S. gesnerioides (Willd.) Vatke—Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. and Oryza sativa L.—Rhamphicarpa fistulosa (Hochst.) Benth differed by less than 1‰. Theoretical carbon isotope ratios for mature leaves of S. hermonthica and S. asiatica, calculated from foliar gas exchange measurements, were −31.8 and −32.0‰, respectively. This difference between the measured and theoretical δ13C-values of 5 to 6‰ suggests that even in mature, photosynthetically active plants, there is substantial input of carbon from the C4 host. We estimate this to be approximately 28% of the total carbon in S. hermonthica and 35% in S. asiatica. This level of carbon transfer contributes to the host's growth reductions observed in Striga-infected sorghum.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Christeller J. T., Laing W. A. Isotope Discrimination by Ribulose 1,5-Diphosphate Carboxylase: No Effect of Temperature or HCO(3) Concentration. Plant Physiol. 1976 Apr;57(4):580–582. doi: 10.1104/pp.57.4.580. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Downton W. J., Grant W. J., Robinson S. P. Photosynthetic and stomatal responses of spinach leaves to salt stress. Plant Physiol. 1985 May;78(1):85–88. doi: 10.1104/pp.78.1.85. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Ehleringer J. R., Schulze E. D., Ziegler H., Lange O. L., Farquhar G. D., Cowar I. R. Xylem-tapping mistletoes: water or nutrient parasites? Science. 1985 Mar 22;227(4693):1479–1481. doi: 10.1126/science.227.4693.1479. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Estep M. F., Tabita F. R., Parker P. L., Van Baalen C. Carbon isotope fractionation by ribulose-1,5-bisophosphate carboxylase from various organisms. Plant Physiol. 1978 Apr;61(4):680–687. doi: 10.1104/pp.61.4.680. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Press M. C., Tuohy J. M., Stewart G. R. Gas exchange characteristics of the sorghum-striga host-parasite association. Plant Physiol. 1987 Jul;84(3):814–819. doi: 10.1104/pp.84.3.814. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Wong W. W., Benedict C. R., Kohel R. J. Enzymic Fractionation of the Stable Carbon Isotopes of Carbon Dioxide by Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate Carboxylase. Plant Physiol. 1979 May;63(5):852–856. doi: 10.1104/pp.63.5.852. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES