Abstract
The freezing characteristics and development of cell tension during extracellular freezing were examined in supercooling stem tissues of riverbank grapes (Vitis riparia) and cold-hardened leaves of live oak (Quercus virginiana) and mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea). Dormant stem xylem and pith tissues of river-bank grapes were resistant to freeze-induced dehydration above the homogeneous nucleation temperature, and they developed cell tension reaching a maximum of 27 MPa. Similarly, extracellular freezing induced cell tension in the leaves of live oak and mountain cranberry. Maximum cell tension in the leaves of live oak was 16.8 MPa and 8.3 MPa in the leaves of mountain cranberry. Following peak tensions in the leaves, a decline in the pressure was observed with progressive freezing. The results suggest that resistance to cell deformation during extracellular freezing due to cell-wall rigidity can lead to reduced cell dehydration and increased cell tension. A relationship to predict freezing behavior in plant tissues based on cell rigidity is presented. Based on cell-water relations and ice nucleation rates, cell-wall rigidity has been shown to effect the freezing characteristics of plant tissues, including freeze-induced dehydration, supercooling, and homogeneous nucleation temperatures.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (726.5 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- George M. F., Burke M. J. Cold hardiness and deep supercooling in xylem of shagbark hickory. Plant Physiol. 1977 Feb;59(2):319–325. doi: 10.1104/pp.59.2.319. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gusta L. V. Determination of unfrozen water in winter cereals at subfreezing temperatures. Plant Physiol. 1975 Nov;56(5):707–709. doi: 10.1104/pp.56.5.707. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gusta L. V., Tyler N. J., Chen T. H. Deep Undercooling in Woody Taxa Growing North of the -40 degrees C Isotherm. Plant Physiol. 1983 May;72(1):122–128. doi: 10.1104/pp.72.1.122. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Malone S. R., Ashworth E. N. Freezing stress response in woody tissues observed using low-temperature scanning electron microscopy and freeze substitution techniques. Plant Physiol. 1991 Mar;95(3):871–881. doi: 10.1104/pp.95.3.871. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tyree M. T., Dixon M. A. Cavitation Events in Thuja occidentalis L.? : Utrasonic Acoustic Emissions from the Sapwood Can Be Measured. Plant Physiol. 1983 Aug;72(4):1094–1099. doi: 10.1104/pp.72.4.1094. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Zheng Q., Durben D. J., Wolf G. H., Angell C. A. Liquids at large negative pressures: water at the homogeneous nucleation limit. Science. 1991 Nov 8;254(5033):829–832. doi: 10.1126/science.254.5033.829. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Zhu J. J., Beck E. Water Relations of Pachysandra Leaves during Freezing and Thawing : Evidence for a Negative Pressure Potential Alleviating Freeze-Dehydration Stress. Plant Physiol. 1991 Nov;97(3):1146–1153. doi: 10.1104/pp.97.3.1146. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Zhu J. J., Steudle E., Beck E. Negative pressures produced in an artificial osmotic cell by extracellular freezing. Plant Physiol. 1989 Dec;91(4):1454–1459. doi: 10.1104/pp.91.4.1454. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]