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INTRODUCTION
PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
Water makes up most of the mass of plant cells. In each cell, cytoplasm
makes up only 5 to 10% of the cell volume and the remainder is a large
water-filled vacuole.
There is a strong correlation between alterations in leaf protoplast
volume and changes in leaf photosynthetic activity. Sometimes decreases
in tissue water content may be more important than decreases in water
potential or pressure potential in terms of influencing growth. Then, it is
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not enough to study water relations in plants to know only water content
but is often important to measure both, tissue water content and water
potential for plants growing under field conditions. Plants in natural
environments can support different environmental conditions that interact
with its genetics characteristics. Diploid Dactylis glomerata showed a
smaller RWC than tetraploid citotype (González-Vilar et al.,
unpublished). Values for tetraploid plants were close to 80 and diploid
plants presented values round 70 with significant differences at 0.05 level.
This could imply that these plants suffered marked metabolic changes
with ceasing of photosynthetic activity, respiration increment and proline
and abscisic acid accumulation.
Small discs or tissue pieces are used to determine a great variety of
physiological processes in plants (photosynthesis, enzymatic activity,
pigments content...) although it should be taken in account the possible
heterogeneity of the leaf to get a good correlation between RWC and
some physiological processes.
In the process of tissue saturation there are two phases of water
uptake. Initially there is a rapid uptake of water to satisfying the water
deficit of the tissue. Later there is a slower uptake of water caused by
growth and other physiological factors, difficult to define, how it takes
place. Young tissues are more sensible to this second step (Figure 2).
Samples with a long saturation time, like young tissues, need some
kind of data correction for growth.
RWC is a measure of the relative cellular volume that shows the
changes in cellular volume that could be affecting interactions between
macromolecules and organelles. As general rule, a RWC among 100-90 %
is related to closing of the stomata pore in the leaf and a reduction in the
cellular expansion and growth. Contents of 90-80 % are correlated with
changes in the composition of the tissues and some alterations in the
relative rates of photosynthesis and respiration. Levels of RWC below 80
% imply usually water potential of the order of -1.5 MPa or less, and this
would produce changes in the metabolism with ceasing of the
photosynthesis, increment of the respiration and proline and abscisic acid
accumulation.
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