Transportation or sharing of stress signals among interconnected ramets improves systemic resistance of clonal networks to water stress

Previous studies have elucidated the mechanisms, ecological implications and constraints on transportation or sharing of defence signals among interconnected ramets of clonal plants suffering from localised herbivore damage. To our knowledge, few studies have been conducted to provide insights into the ecological implications on transportation or sharing of stress signals for clonal plants subjected to water stress. As a chemical elicitor, ABA can induce resistance response in plants suffering from water stress. A pot experiment was conducted to explore transportation or sharing of stress signals among interconnected ramets by using clonal fragments of Centella asiaticas (L.) Urban with four successive ramets (oldest, old, mature and young) subjected to low water availability (20% soil moisture contents). Compared with control, foliar oxidative stress of the old, mature and young ramets significantly decreased, and antioxidant capacity was increased when exogenous ABA was applied to the oldest ramets. Meanwhile, foliar PSII activity and chlorophyll content of the old, mature and young ramets significantly increased. Compared with control, biomass accumulation and ratio of below-ground/aboveground biomass of whole clonal fragments were significantly increased by ABA application to the oldest ramets. However, similar patterns were not observed when exogenous ABA was applied to the young ramets. Our results show that transportation or sharing of stress signals among interconnected ramets improves systemic resistance of clonal networks to water stress, which is dependent on directionality of vascular flows. Compared with the old or mature ramets, the young ramets displayed stronger resistance response (such as higher antioxidant enzymes activities and proline content, lower O2•− production rate and malondialdehyde content) to water stress as well as higher PSII activity and chlorophyll content when exogenous ABA was applied to the oldest ramets. Thus, transportation or sharing of stress signals may favour young ramets that are most valuable for growth and fitness of clonal plant subjected to environmental stress. It is suggested that transportation or sharing of stress signals among interconnected ramets may confer clonal plants with considerable benefits in adapting to spatio-temporal heterogeneous habitats.