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Contrasting growth responses to aluminium addition among populations of the aluminium accumulator Melastoma malabathricum

Aluminium (Al) hyper-accumulation is a common trait expressed by tropical woody plants growing on acidic soils. Studies on Al accumulators have suggested that Al addition may enhance plant growth rates, but the functional significance of this trait and the mechanistic basis of the growth response ar...

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Main Authors: Mahmud, Khairil, Burslem, David F. R. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2020
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88256/1/ABSTRACT.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88256/
https://academic.oup.com/aobpla/article/12/5/plaa049/5904248
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spelling my.upm.eprints.882562022-11-24T04:12:32Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88256/ Contrasting growth responses to aluminium addition among populations of the aluminium accumulator Melastoma malabathricum Mahmud, Khairil Burslem, David F. R. P. Aluminium (Al) hyper-accumulation is a common trait expressed by tropical woody plants growing on acidic soils. Studies on Al accumulators have suggested that Al addition may enhance plant growth rates, but the functional significance of this trait and the mechanistic basis of the growth response are uncertain. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that differential growth responses to Al among populations of an Al accumulator species are associated with variation in biomass allocation and nutrient uptake. We conducted two experiments to test differential responses to the presence of Al in the growth medium for seedlings of the Al accumulator shrub Melastoma malabathricum collected from 18 populations across Peninsular Malaysia. Total dry mass and relative growth rate of dry mass were significantly greater for seedlings that had received Al in the growth medium than for control plants that did not receive Al, but growth declined in response to 5.0 mM Al addition. The increase in growth rate in response to Al addition was greater for a fast-growing than a slow-growing population. The increase in growth rate in response to Al addition occurred despite a reduction in dry mass allocation to leaves, at the expense of higher allocation to roots and stems, for plants grown with Al. Foliar concentrations of P, K, Mg and Ca increased in response to Al addition and the first axis of a PCA summarizing foliar nutrient concentrations among populations was correlated positively with seedling relative growth rates. Some populations of the Al hyper-accumulator M. malabathricum express a physiological response to Al addition which leads to a stimulation of growth up to an optimum value of Al in the growth medium, beyond which growth declines. This was associated with enhanced nutrient concentrations in leaves, which suggests that Al accumulation functions to optimize elemental stoichiometry and growth rate. Oxford University Press 2020 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88256/1/ABSTRACT.pdf Mahmud, Khairil and Burslem, David F. R. P. (2020) Contrasting growth responses to aluminium addition among populations of the aluminium accumulator Melastoma malabathricum. AoB Plants, 12 (5). pp. 1-10. ISSN 2041-2851 https://academic.oup.com/aobpla/article/12/5/plaa049/5904248 10.1093/aobpla/plaa049
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
building UPM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Putra Malaysia
content_source UPM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://psasir.upm.edu.my/
language English
description Aluminium (Al) hyper-accumulation is a common trait expressed by tropical woody plants growing on acidic soils. Studies on Al accumulators have suggested that Al addition may enhance plant growth rates, but the functional significance of this trait and the mechanistic basis of the growth response are uncertain. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that differential growth responses to Al among populations of an Al accumulator species are associated with variation in biomass allocation and nutrient uptake. We conducted two experiments to test differential responses to the presence of Al in the growth medium for seedlings of the Al accumulator shrub Melastoma malabathricum collected from 18 populations across Peninsular Malaysia. Total dry mass and relative growth rate of dry mass were significantly greater for seedlings that had received Al in the growth medium than for control plants that did not receive Al, but growth declined in response to 5.0 mM Al addition. The increase in growth rate in response to Al addition was greater for a fast-growing than a slow-growing population. The increase in growth rate in response to Al addition occurred despite a reduction in dry mass allocation to leaves, at the expense of higher allocation to roots and stems, for plants grown with Al. Foliar concentrations of P, K, Mg and Ca increased in response to Al addition and the first axis of a PCA summarizing foliar nutrient concentrations among populations was correlated positively with seedling relative growth rates. Some populations of the Al hyper-accumulator M. malabathricum express a physiological response to Al addition which leads to a stimulation of growth up to an optimum value of Al in the growth medium, beyond which growth declines. This was associated with enhanced nutrient concentrations in leaves, which suggests that Al accumulation functions to optimize elemental stoichiometry and growth rate.
format Article
author Mahmud, Khairil
Burslem, David F. R. P.
spellingShingle Mahmud, Khairil
Burslem, David F. R. P.
Contrasting growth responses to aluminium addition among populations of the aluminium accumulator Melastoma malabathricum
author_facet Mahmud, Khairil
Burslem, David F. R. P.
author_sort Mahmud, Khairil
title Contrasting growth responses to aluminium addition among populations of the aluminium accumulator Melastoma malabathricum
title_short Contrasting growth responses to aluminium addition among populations of the aluminium accumulator Melastoma malabathricum
title_full Contrasting growth responses to aluminium addition among populations of the aluminium accumulator Melastoma malabathricum
title_fullStr Contrasting growth responses to aluminium addition among populations of the aluminium accumulator Melastoma malabathricum
title_full_unstemmed Contrasting growth responses to aluminium addition among populations of the aluminium accumulator Melastoma malabathricum
title_sort contrasting growth responses to aluminium addition among populations of the aluminium accumulator melastoma malabathricum
publisher Oxford University Press
publishDate 2020
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88256/1/ABSTRACT.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88256/
https://academic.oup.com/aobpla/article/12/5/plaa049/5904248
_version_ 1751538217519153152
score 13.211869

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