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, specifically, the response of the metabolic pathways associated with glycolysis and aerobic respiration 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. Upon termination of the experiment, 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.