WONG PUI MUN (20WLR08576) 

BABS2233 PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR OF PLANTS PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT

1. Circular leaf spot, caused by the ascomycetous fungus ​Plurivorosphaerella nawae)​ , is the most 

problematic fungal disease of persimmon worldwide. A study was done to compare the 
changes in the contents of total phenol, total flavonoid, tannin and vitamin C and disease severity.   

Fig. 1 shows the leaves collected for the study. Fig. 2 shows the contents of phenolic compounds and 
vitamin C.   

H1 (May), H2 (September) refers to two collection times; H = healthy, D = disease; green leaves are younger. 
Fig.3. Area  under  the  disease  progress  curve  to  compare  disease  severity  between  older  and  younger 
leaves. 
 
a) List t​ wo​roles of phenolic compounds and o ​ ne​role of vitamin C. (3) 
 
Phenolic compound 
-serve as defence compounds against herbivores and pathogens. 
-attract pollinators and seed dispersal. 
 
Vitamin C 
-Enhance immune function. 
 
b) List f​ our​points you can summarize from the results. (4) 
● Compared with the asymptomatic leaves (old) and the asymptomatic parts of the infected
leaves, the symptomatic parts of the infected leaves, symptomatic leaves, and
asymptomatic young leaves showed significantly higher content of phenolics and vitamin
C, and higher antioxidant activities.
● The disease progression was much faster and severe in the older than in the younger
leaves.
● The percents of disease severity was higher in old leaves than younger leaves.
 ● Higher content of phenolics and antioxidant activities in the younger leaves may
contribute to circular leaf spot resistance in persimmon.
 
c) Why  do  you  think  there  is  an  accumulation of phenolics and vitamin C in the infected leaves? 
(2) 
Accumulation  of  phenolics  and  antioxidant  activity  in  the  infected  leaves  is  a  post-infection 
response and the first stage of the defense mechanism. 
 
2. Anthesis  refers  to  is  the  period  during  which  a  flower  is  fully  open  and  functional.  The 
following  results  are  taken  from  the  kiwifruits.  Ripening  in  fruit  harvested  around  24  weeks  can  be 
triggered  by  exposure  to  an  external  source  of  ethylene  even  though  the  fruit  are  not  yet  producing 
ethylene by themselves.   
a) Briefly  discuss  the  changes  observed  in  the  upper  panel.  (5).  For  instance,  you  may  provide a 
reason for the observed changes. 
For  24  weeks  after  flowering,  fruits  are  hard  and  sugar  content  is  low.  Meanwhile  starch  content 
rises  Ripening  in  fruit  harvested  around  24  weeks  can  be  triggered  by  exposure  to  an  external 
source  of  ethylene  even  though  the  fruit  are  not  yet  producing  ethylene  by  themselves,  and  are 
incapable  of an autocatalytic response. Within a week of such treatment starch becomes hydrolysed 
and  sugar  concentration  rises.  Fruit  then  soften  rapidly  and  several  cell  wall-modifying  enzymes 
increase in activity. Fruit does eventually show a peak in ethylene production. 
 
b) What is the function of ​β​-galactosidase? (1) 
It  is  a  glycoside  hydrolase  enzyme  that  catalyzes  the  hydrolysis  of  β-galactosides  into 
monosaccharides through the breaking of a glycosidic bond 
 
c)  Provide evidence that kiwifruit is a climacteric fruit. (2) 
The  kiwifruit  is  a  climacteric  fruit  that  is  extremely  responsive  to  low  concentrations  of  ethylene, 
even  at  low  temperatures.  At  harvest  the  fruit  has  a  high  starch  content,  and  during  ripening  the 
soluble solids content of the fruit may double, largely as a result of starch hydrolysis. 
3. Briefly comment on the response of leaf chlorophyll and carotenoid (Ct) content in
wheat ​(Triticum aestivum L.) to changes in varying application levels of soil salinity and fertilizer
applied over a complete growth cycle. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted in
triplicate by employing distinct treatments of both soil salinity and fertilizer dose at three levels
(Figure 1). (5)
Results  showed  that  higher doses of fertilizer increased the content of leaf pigments across all levels 
of  soil  salinity.  Likewise,  increasing  the  level  of  soil  salinity  significantly  increased  the  chlorophyll 
and  Ct  content  per leaf area at all levels of applied fertilizer. However, as an adaptation process and 
defense  mechanism  under  salinity  stress,  leaves  were  found  to  be thicker and narrower. Thus, on a 
per-plant  basis,  increasing  salinity  significantly  reduced  the  chlorophyll  (Chlt)  and  Ct  produced 
under  each  fertilizer  treatment.  In  addition,  interaction  effects  of  soil  salinity  and  fertilizer 
application  on  the  photosynthetic  pigment  content  were  found  to  be  significant,  as  the  higher 
amounts of fertilizer augmented the detrimental effects of salinity. 
 

Figure 1.​ Actual amount of leaf pigments produced by a whole wheat plant under various treatments
employed in the experiment expressed as mg·Plant​−1​: (​A​) total chlorophyll and (​B​) total carotenoids
content. Different capital letters indicate significant differences among the three fertilizer doses at a given
salinity level. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among salinity treatments in each
fertilizer dose. Means with the same letters show non-significant difference at ​p​ < 0.01. Values are means
of ~30 observations with error bars as standard deviations of the mean.

4. You are the investigator of seed viability and dormancy of a forest tree. You need to determine if
the seeds provided by the Department of Forestry are viable and whether there is dormancy due to seed
coat effects. All necessary solutions and materials are provided, including 2,3,5 triphenyl tetrazolium
chloride solution. Briefly give the steps you will carry out based on your objectives. In addition, state the
possible expected results with reason if there is dormancy observed and seeds are viable. (8 for
experiment, 5 for results).
Procedure： 
Standardization  of  the  viability  test procedure was  conducted  to optimize  the  concentration of 
Tz  solution  and  period  of  soaking.Seeds  were  nicked  before  soaking  in  water  as 
preconditioning  treatment  At  the  end  of  the  soaking  period,  the  hard  seed  coat  became  soft 
and  was  removed  to  expose  the  cotyledon.  Naked  cotyledon  was  transferred  to  the  Tz 
solution  of  two  concentrations  (C1  :  0.1%  and  C2  :  0.5%)  and  soaked  for  different 
durations.  The  treatment  was imposed  at  30°C as enzymes are  more  active  at  this  temperature 
By  the  end  of  the  treatment  period,  seeds  were  washed  with  water  and  evaluated  by  visual 
observation  by  keeping  them  under  a  dissection  microscope.  Cotyledon  staining  pattern  and 
intensity  building  was  observed  at  a  predetermined  duration  of  soaking.  Dissecting  the 
microscope visualized the pattern of staining and also the intensity of the colour clearly.  
 
Results: 
Freshly  harvested  seeds  showed  very  poor  germination  before  any  seed  treatments,  whereas 
different  dormancy  breaking  seed  treatments  recorded  positive  response  on  germination  because 
of  seed  treatment  germination  percent  has  increased,  and  decrease  in  hard  seed  percent  was 
observed.  Germination  has  increased  significantly  after  damaging the seed coat (nicking), resulting 
in enhanced germination over control.