Resource allocation strategies among vegetative growth, sexual reproduction, asexual reproduction and defense during growing season of Aconitum kusnezoffii Reichb.

作者：Mingze Tang, Wei Zhao, Xing Ming, Jiaxin Zhao, Jiang Zhang, Jian Wei You, Biao Ni, Yuanbo Ni, Chengbai Liu, Jiangnan Li, Chen Xia · 发表于：The Plant Journal · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1111/tpj.15080 · 被引用次数：42 · 研究领域：Plant-based Medicinal Research、Plant and animal studies、Plant tissue culture and regeneration

Natural plants must actively allocate their limited resources for survival and reproduction. Although vegetative growth, sexual reproduction, asexual reproduction and defense are all basic processes in the life cycle of plants, the strategies used to allocate resources between these processes are poorly understood. These processes are conspicuous in naturally grown Aconitum kusnezoffii Reichb., which makes it a suitable study subject. Here, the morphology, dry matter, total organic carbon, total nitrogen and aconitum alkaloid levels of shoot, principal root (PR) and lateral roots were measured throughout the growing season. Then, transcriptome and metabolite content analyses were performed. We found that vegetative growth began first. After vegetative growth ceased, sexual development began. Flower organ development was accompanied by increased photosynthesis and the PR consumed temporarily stored resources after flower formation. Asexual propagule development initiated earlier than sexual reproduction and kept accumulating resources after that. Development was slow before flower formation, mainly manifesting as increasing length; then, after flower formation it accelerated via enhanced material transport and accumulation. Defense compounds were maintained at low levels before flowering. In particular, the turnover of defense compounds was enhanced before and after flower bud emergence, providing resources for other processes. After flower formation, defense compounds were ac...