XVI International Botanical Congess

Vegetative response to saltwater intrusion into coastal freshwater wetlands results from the interactive effects of increased salinity and porewater sulfide concentrations. The objective of this study was to determine the individual and interactive effects of these stressors on the physiological processes that govern plant growth by investigating the response of the glycolytic and respiratory pathways in the freshwater macrophyte Panicum hemitomon. Seedlings were subjected to a factorial treatment arrangement of three salinities (0, 2, and 4 ppt) and three sulfide concentrations (0, 0.5 and 1 mM) for 12 weeks. Root aerobic and anaerobic respiration were determined, as well as root tissue concentrations of the glycolytic metabolites acetaldehyde, alanine, ethanol, lactate, malate and pyruvate. The results of these assays will be discussed at the conference.