There Is No Carbon Transfer Between Scots Pine and Pine Mistletoe but the Assimilation Capacity of the Hemiparasite Is Constrained by Host Water Use Under Dry Conditions.

ABSTRACT: Pine mistletoe is a hemiparasitic shrub that can produce its own photosynthates. There is a lack of knowledge about the interaction of mistletoe and host under varying environmental condition that might influence carbon gain and allocation. In a ¹³C-pulse labeling experiment with mature Pinus sylvestris (pine) infected by mistletoes grown in naturally dry or irrigated conditions, (1) mistletoe clusters were shielded from ¹³CO₂ added, and (2) mistletoes or host needles were removed to manipulate the local assimilate and water availability. No ¹³C signal was found in shielded mistletoes, indicating no carbon transfer from the host to the mistletoe. When the pine needles were removed from girdled branches, no ¹³C signal was found i

SUBMITTER: Wang A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9201984 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature