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No signs of meristem senescence in old Scots pine

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No signs of meristem senescence in old Scots pine. / Mencuccini, Maurizio; Onate Gutierrez, Marta; Penuelas, Josep et al.
In: Journal of Ecology, Vol. 102, No. 3, 05.2014, p. 555-565.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Mencuccini, M, Onate Gutierrez, M, Penuelas, J, Rico, L & Munne-Bosch, S 2014, 'No signs of meristem senescence in old Scots pine', Journal of Ecology, vol. 102, no. 3, pp. 555-565. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12219

APA

Mencuccini, M., Onate Gutierrez, M., Penuelas, J., Rico, L., & Munne-Bosch, S. (2014). No signs of meristem senescence in old Scots pine. Journal of Ecology, 102(3), 555-565. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12219

Vancouver

Mencuccini M, Onate Gutierrez M, Penuelas J, Rico L, Munne-Bosch S. No signs of meristem senescence in old Scots pine. Journal of Ecology. 2014 May;102(3):555-565. doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12219

Author

Mencuccini, Maurizio ; Onate Gutierrez, Marta ; Penuelas, Josep et al. / No signs of meristem senescence in old Scots pine. In: Journal of Ecology. 2014 ; Vol. 102, No. 3. pp. 555-565.

Bibtex

@article{03cbbef9747f4e90acd112896f964a27,
title = "No signs of meristem senescence in old Scots pine",
abstract = "Ageing and senescence in plants remain poorly understood. Although meristem totipotency may allow woody perennials to be immortal, relative growth and photosynthetic rates typically decline with age.Trees of ages between 129 and 534years were selected in one of the oldest extant populations of Scots pine. Apical branches were propagated by grafting onto homogeneous juvenile rootstock to eliminate the effects of size and environmental variability and isolate those due to age. The hormonal profile of leaves and seeds along with markers of the physiological status of leaves and their pattern of DNA cytosine methylation were measured 15years after grafting.The percentage of total methylated loci in nuclear DNA increased with increasing meristematic age. However, only very few significant relationships were found between levels of phyto-hormones, pigments or physiological markers either in leaves or seeds and age of the meristem. In addition, shoots grafted from old trees grew as fast as those from younger trees and produced the same number of germinable seeds.Synthesis. We conclude that changes in DNA methylation can occur in old trees. The lack of apparent physiological deterioration in the grafted plants suggests that meristem senescence is not the main factor triggering whole-plant ageing in Scots pine.",
keywords = "ageing, senescence, reproduction, growth, Scotland, DNA methylation, size-related processes, Scots pine, AGE-RELATED-CHANGES, ABSCISIC-ACID LEVELS, DNA METHYLATION, SYLVESTRIS L., MEDITERRANEAN SHRUB, NATURAL-SELECTION, SHOOT DEVELOPMENT, PLANT SHRINKAGE, CISTUS-CLUSII, GAS-EXCHANGE",
author = "Maurizio Mencuccini and {Onate Gutierrez}, Marta and Josep Penuelas and Laura Rico and Sergi Munne-Bosch",
year = "2014",
month = may,
doi = "10.1111/1365-2745.12219",
language = "English",
volume = "102",
pages = "555--565",
journal = "Journal of Ecology",
issn = "0022-0477",
publisher = "Blackwell-Wiley",
number = "3",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - No signs of meristem senescence in old Scots pine

AU - Mencuccini, Maurizio

AU - Onate Gutierrez, Marta

AU - Penuelas, Josep

AU - Rico, Laura

AU - Munne-Bosch, Sergi

PY - 2014/5

Y1 - 2014/5

N2 - Ageing and senescence in plants remain poorly understood. Although meristem totipotency may allow woody perennials to be immortal, relative growth and photosynthetic rates typically decline with age.Trees of ages between 129 and 534years were selected in one of the oldest extant populations of Scots pine. Apical branches were propagated by grafting onto homogeneous juvenile rootstock to eliminate the effects of size and environmental variability and isolate those due to age. The hormonal profile of leaves and seeds along with markers of the physiological status of leaves and their pattern of DNA cytosine methylation were measured 15years after grafting.The percentage of total methylated loci in nuclear DNA increased with increasing meristematic age. However, only very few significant relationships were found between levels of phyto-hormones, pigments or physiological markers either in leaves or seeds and age of the meristem. In addition, shoots grafted from old trees grew as fast as those from younger trees and produced the same number of germinable seeds.Synthesis. We conclude that changes in DNA methylation can occur in old trees. The lack of apparent physiological deterioration in the grafted plants suggests that meristem senescence is not the main factor triggering whole-plant ageing in Scots pine.

AB - Ageing and senescence in plants remain poorly understood. Although meristem totipotency may allow woody perennials to be immortal, relative growth and photosynthetic rates typically decline with age.Trees of ages between 129 and 534years were selected in one of the oldest extant populations of Scots pine. Apical branches were propagated by grafting onto homogeneous juvenile rootstock to eliminate the effects of size and environmental variability and isolate those due to age. The hormonal profile of leaves and seeds along with markers of the physiological status of leaves and their pattern of DNA cytosine methylation were measured 15years after grafting.The percentage of total methylated loci in nuclear DNA increased with increasing meristematic age. However, only very few significant relationships were found between levels of phyto-hormones, pigments or physiological markers either in leaves or seeds and age of the meristem. In addition, shoots grafted from old trees grew as fast as those from younger trees and produced the same number of germinable seeds.Synthesis. We conclude that changes in DNA methylation can occur in old trees. The lack of apparent physiological deterioration in the grafted plants suggests that meristem senescence is not the main factor triggering whole-plant ageing in Scots pine.

KW - ageing

KW - senescence

KW - reproduction

KW - growth

KW - Scotland

KW - DNA methylation

KW - size-related processes

KW - Scots pine

KW - AGE-RELATED-CHANGES

KW - ABSCISIC-ACID LEVELS

KW - DNA METHYLATION

KW - SYLVESTRIS L.

KW - MEDITERRANEAN SHRUB

KW - NATURAL-SELECTION

KW - SHOOT DEVELOPMENT

KW - PLANT SHRINKAGE

KW - CISTUS-CLUSII

KW - GAS-EXCHANGE

U2 - 10.1111/1365-2745.12219

DO - 10.1111/1365-2745.12219

M3 - Journal article

VL - 102

SP - 555

EP - 565

JO - Journal of Ecology

JF - Journal of Ecology

SN - 0022-0477

IS - 3

ER -