Chloride regulates leaf cell size and water relations in tobacco plants

Abstract

Chloride (Cl^–) is a micronutrient that accumulates to macronutrient levels since it is normally available in nature and actively taken up by higher plants. Besides a role as an unspecific cell osmoticum, no clear biological roles have been explicitly associated with Cl^– when accumulated to macronutrient concentrations. To address this question, the glycophyte tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. var. Habana) has been treated with a basal nutrient solution supplemented with one of three salt combinations containing the same cationic balance: Cl^–-based (CL), nitrate-based (N), and sulphate+phosphate-based (SP) treatments. Under non-saline conditions (up to 5mM Cl^–) and no water limitation, Cl^– specifically stimulated higher leaf cell size and led to a moderate increase of plant fresh and dry biomass mainly due to higher shoot expansion. When applied in the 1–5mM range, Cl^– played specific roles in regulating leaf osmotic potential and turgor, allowing plants to improve leaf water balance parameters. In addition, Cl^– also altered water relations at the whole-plant level through reduction of plant transpiration. This was a consequence of a lower stomatal conductance, which resulted in lower water loss and greater photosynthetic and integrated water-use efficiency. In contrast to Cl^–, these effects were not observed for essential anionic macronutrients such as nitrate, sulphate, and phosphate. We propose that the abundant uptake and accumulation of Cl^– responds to adaptive functions improving water homeostasis in higher plants.