Hydraulic conductivity and contribution of aquaporins to water uptake in roots of four sunflower genotypes

Botanical Studies

Table 1 Root morphological parameters and K ⁺ flux into the xylem of four sunflower genotypes grown in a growth chamber under controlled and well-watered conditions

Genotype	N	RFW (g)	RDW (g)	RL (cm)	RS (cm²)	RV (cm³)^a	K⁺flux (μmol h⁻¹g⁻¹)
RIL043	23	7.92 ±2.08	0.29 ± 0.06	1669 ± 331	210 ± 35	2.39 ± 0.74	5.08 ± 0.10 (92.6%)
RIL127	19	3.16±0.68	0.17 ± 0.05	1191 ± 211	134 ± 31	1.05 ± 0.43	2.11 ± 0.55 (121.6%)
RIL149	20	5.23±0.95	0.24 ± 0.07	1271 ± 264	161 ± 30	1.63 ± 0.42	1.76 ± 0.11 (103.3%)
RIL200	23	7.21±1.86	0.27 ± 0.08	1247 ± 457	152 ± 40	2.01 ± 0.69	6.72 ± 1.23 (116.2%)

N: number of roots, RFW: root fresh weight, RDW: root dry weight, RL: root length, RS: root surface, RV: fine root volume.
The data represent all the roots of the non-inhibited plants (control) and inhibited plants (HgCl₂). Values are means and standard deviations.
^aFine roots are the smallest diameter class (0 – 0.5 mm) determined by the WinRHIZO analysis.
^bK⁺ fluxes are for HgCl₂ treated plants but are also expressed in percentage of the controls (values in parenthesis).