Effect of Drought on the Methylerythritol 4-Phosphate (MEP) Pathway in the Isoprene Emitting Conifer Picea glauca.

ABSTRACT: The methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis produces chlorophyll side chains and compounds that function in resistance to abiotic stresses, including carotenoids, and isoprene. Thus we investigated the effects of moderate and severe drought on MEP pathway function in the conifer Picea glauca, a boreal species at risk under global warming trends. Although moderate drought treatment reduced the photosynthetic rate by over 70%, metabolic flux through the MEP pathway was reduced by only 37%. The activity of the putative rate-limiting step, 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS), was also reduced by about 50%, supporting the key role of this enzyme in regulating pathway metabolic flux. However, under severe drought, as flux declined below detectable l

SUBMITTER: Perreca E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7581940 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature