Effects of Increasing Ozone Levels on Leaf Biochemistry and Flower Development in Petunia Varieties with Different Floral Pigmentation
2024
Ning Yang | Xiaoke Wang | Lorenzo Cotrozzi | Cristina Nali | Elisa Pellegrini | Gemma Bianchi | Claudia Pisuttu | Feixiang Zheng
In this work, we assessed the effects of increasing ozone (O<sub>3</sub>) on four petunia varieties with different floral pigmentation (pink, red, rose-red, and white). Plants were exposed, in open-top chambers located in China, to three O<sub>3</sub> concentrations, i.e., (i) ambient air (AA), (ii) AA + 60 ppb O<sub>3</sub> (AA + 60), and (iii) AA + 120 ppb O<sub>3</sub> (AA + 120), for 85 days (9 h day<sup>−1</sup>). Flower diameter and duration were assessed, together with leaf chlorophyll and flavonoid contents. White petunia showed a reduced flower diameter and longevity under AA + 60 (−7 and −6%, respectively, in comparison to AA), whereas pink and red petunias only showed this under AA + 120 (−8 and −7%, on average, respectively). Chlorophyll loss occurred in all varieties under AA + 60 (−30%, on average), and at AA + 120 in white and red petunias (−54%, on average). The total flavonoid content in the pink and white varieties increased only under AA + 120 (around +85%), while it grew at both AA + 60 and AA + 120 (+92% and two-fold higher, respectively) in the red variety. Increasing O<sub>3</sub> concentrations did not affect particularly the red-rose variety. The white variety showed the strongest correlations among flower and leaf properties, confirming a variety-related O<sub>3</sub> response, as well as demonstrating that it had the highest O<sub>3</sub> sensitivity.
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