TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lechthaler, Silvia
A1  - Colangeli, Pierluigi
A1  - Gazzabin, Moira
A1  - Anfodillo, Tommaso
T1  - Axial anatomy of the leaf midrib provides new insights into the hydraulic architecture and cavitation patterns of Acer pseudoplatanus leaves
JF  - Journal of experimental botany
N2  - The structure of leaf veins is typically described by a hierarchical scheme (e.g. midrib, 1(st) order, 2nd order), which is used to predict variation in conduit diameter from one order to another whilst overlooking possible variation within the same order. We examined whether xylem conduit diameter changes within the same vein order, with resulting consequences for resistance to embolism. We measured the hydraulic diameter (D-h), and number of vessels (V-N) along the midrib and petioles of leaves of Acer pseudoplatanus, and estimated the leaf area supplied (A(leaf-sup)) at different points of the midrib and how variation in anatomical traits affected embolism resistance. We found that D-h scales with distance from the midrib tip (path length, L) with a power of 0.42, and that V-N scales with A(leaf-sup) with a power of 0.66. Total conductive area scales isometrically with A(leaf-sup). Embolism events along the midrib occurred first in the basipetal part and then at the leaf tip where vessels are narrower. The distance from the midrib tip is a good predictor of the variation in vessel diameter along the 1st order veins in A. pseudoplatanus leaves and this anatomical pattern seems to have an effect on hydraulic integrity since wider vessels at the leaf base embolize first.
KW  - Acer pseudoplatanus
KW  - Leaf cavitation
KW  - leaf hydraulic architecture
KW  - leaf midrib
KW  - total conductive area
KW  - sycamore maple
KW  - vessel diameter
KW  - vessel number
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erz347
SN  - 0022-0957
SN  - 1460-2431
VL  - 70
IS  - 21
SP  - 6195
EP  - 6201
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  -