Grasses are increasingly popular plants in urban plantings. Their popularity is due to the widely available range of species and varieties and their high resistance to urban conditions. One of the new cultivars of Miscanthus sinensis 'Gold Bar', which was used in this study, belongs to this group. Plants originating from in vitro cultures, grown in peat medium, were treated with aqueous NaCl solution in three concentrations: 50, 150 and 300 mM · l-1. In order to determine the changes that occur as a result of the stress factor, biometric measurements of the above- and below-ground parts of the plants were made, and biochemical analyses for hydrogen peroxide content and catalase activity were performed. In the course of individual measurements and analyses, it was observed that the highest concentration of NaCl caused in the plants studied, first of all, a 3-fold reduction in the length of the root system in relation to the control plants; additionally, a strong dieback of leaves was observed. The results obtained during the experiment prove that resistance to salinity stress is strongly correlated with cultivar. In addition, these studies provide a basis for the use of this cultivar in the city, but away from areas heavily polluted with salt compounds.
Hi,
Hi, thank you for your
Hi, thank you for your question!
It can make a big difference to the environment as it forms a large green mass, as befits Miscanthus, so it is a valuable oxygen producing plant (planted in parks or by playgrounds). In addition, it should be noted that Miscanthus has a high drought tolerance, so even planted in cities, it can provide a place (among the grass blades) for nesting animals (e.g. birds).
Greetings from Slovakia to
Greetings from Slovakia to the participant from Warsaw! Interesting experimental design. I would like to ask, what do you think: what is it "behind the scenes" within adaptive mechanisms of the plants when confronted with salinity? I have noticed the increasing trends in H2O2 content and catalase activity such was obviously corelated with the increasing concentration of NaCl. How would you explain and describe that? Thank you in advance for your reply, ZB
Good morning,
Good morning,
Thank you for your question and also greetings from Poland!
Of course, in addition to the growth of these two parameters presented in the presentation, it can be assumed that the plant has specialised additional adaptation mechanisms. In the course of further research on this species, we plan to focus on a deeper understanding of these mechanisms. When considering this problem from the perspective of other species, we know that plants are able to reduce both transpiration and transport surface area. In the former case, there is a reduction in the number of stomata or in their length, while in the case of transport surface area, there is a reduction in the cell size of the conductive tissues in favour of epidermal tissues. Therefore, in further stages of the research, we would like to check to what extent this plays a role in the case of the plant presented by us, additionally performing also a number of additional biochemical analyses, such as for the content of oxidative stress enzymes. We are also thinking of studying this problem from a molecular aspect, where we will be able to determine which genes in this variety of Miscanthus are responsible for the stress response.
I hope that I have clearly explained my observations on this subject, and maybe in a future edition of the conference I will be able to present new reports on this variety of Miscanthus and its response to a stressor such as salinity, MZ
Ok, Dear Malgorzata, thank
Ok, Dear Malgorzata, thank you for your comments and eligible reply. Your future plans sound promising to me, keep doing great job. Sincrely, ZB