Different Responses of an Invasive Clonal Plant E

Authors: ZhiCong Dai Wei Fu ShanShan Qi DeLi Zhai SiChong Chen LingYun Wan Ping Huang DaoLin Du

Publish Date: 2016/02/15

Volume: 42, Issue: 2, Pages: 85-94

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Abstract

The invasive clonal plant Wedelia trilobata contains higher levels of entkaurane diterpenes which are precursors of gibberellins GAs and higher rates of clonal growth than its native congener W chinensis in invaded habitats We hypothesized that the higher levels of endogenous GAs facilitate greater ramet growth in W trilobata compared with W chinensis We quantified endogenous levels of GA1+3 in the two species and compared their growth responses to the changes of endogenous and exogenous GA3 by using shortterm and longterm hydroponics experiments After a period of homogeneous cultivation levels of endogenous GA1+3 were higher in W trilobata than in W chinensis The reduction of endogenous GAs repressed the emergence of adventitious roots and the growth of W trilobata in the initial cultivation stage and inhibited its shoot elongation and biomass Levels of endogenous GA1+3 were positively correlated with the length of shoots and adventitious roots of W trilobata Adventitious roots of W trilobata also emerged earlier and grew faster when treated with exogenous GA3 In contrast exogenous GA3 treatment inhibited the length of adventitious roots in W chinensis and levels of endogenous GA1+3 did not correlate with shoot or adventitious root length Our study suggests that GAs accelerate the rapid clonal growth of W trilobata more than that of its native congener W chinensis illustrating the relationship between plant hormones and the clonal growth of invasive plants These findings are important for understanding the mechanisms associated with the invasiveness of clonal plants and their potential managementThis work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China 31170386 31570414 31200316 the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu BK20150503 BK20150504 the Jiangsu University Research Foundation 14JDG010 15JDG032 the Natural Science Research Project of Higher Education of Jiangsu 14KJB610005 the Jiangsu Planned Projects for Postdoctoral Research Funds 1501028B the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions PAPD the Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment We thank Professor FeiHai Yu Beijing Forestry University China and Professor JunMin Li Taizhou University China who provided the ramets of W chinensis We also appreciate the editors and anonymous reviewers for their critical comments

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