TY  - JOUR
AU  - Xie, Xiumei
AU  - Yang, Lili
AU  - Peng, Zhujing
AU  - Wu, Mingkai
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/10
TI  - Electrophysiological Profiling Reveals the “Slow” Physiological Strategy and Endangerment Mechanism of the Rare and Endangered Orchid Cremastra appendiculata
JO  - Journal of Plant Electrobiology
T2  - Journal of Plant Electrobiology
JF  - Journal of Plant Electrobiology
VL  - 1
IS  - 2
SP  - 74
EP  - 81
DO  - 10.62762/JPE.2026.747319
UR  - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JPE.2026.747319
KW  - Cremastra appendiculata
KW  - Isatis tinctoria
KW  - electrophysiology
KW  - endangerment mechanism
KW  - life-history strategy
KW  - metabolism–energy–adaptation trade-off
AB  - The conservation of rare and endangered medicinal plants, such as Cremastra appendiculata, is hindered by a limited understanding of their intrinsic endangerment mechanisms. This study employed a plant vitality analyzer (model: ZT-FIA-1, Jiangsu Zhongtian Zhigan Life Data Co., Ltd., China) to systematically measure 50 electrophysiological kinetic parameters in the leaves of C. appendiculata and the fast-growing reference species Isatis tinctoria. Parameters encompassed water metabolism, nutrient transport, dielectric substance translocation, energy metabolism, and comprehensive stress resistance. Compared with I. tinctoria, C. appendiculata exhibited significantly higher intrinsic resistance (IR: \( 13.84 \pm 13.95 \) vs. \( 2.88 \pm 5.17 \), P = 0.011) and significantly lower intracellular water-holding capacity (IWHC: \( 40.69 \pm 36.65 \) vs. \( 124.19 \pm 176.48 \), P = 0.004), intracellular water transport rate (IWTR: \( 3.26 \pm 2.74 \) vs. \( 22.23 \pm 34.73 \), P = 0.006), active nutrient transport capacity (NAC: \( 1.28 \pm 1.19 \) vs. \( 9.38 \pm 11.13 \), P = 0.002), and metabolic flux (MF: \( 186.83 \pm 316.82 \) vs. \( 183,362.05 \pm 291,467.32 \), P = 0.001). No significant differences were observed in energy investment parameters (e.g., $\Delta$GR: \( 130.81 \pm 68.19 \) vs. \( 156.27 \pm 147.54 \), P = 0.744). These results indicate that C. appendiculata adheres to a conservative 'slow' strategy characterized by low metabolic vigor, low active transport capacity, and high energy maintenance costs. Based on these findings, we propose the 'metabolism–energy–adaptation trade-off hypothesis,' which explains that the intrinsic cause of endangerment lies in a fundamental mismatch between its evolutionarily conserved slow strategy and resource fluctuations in ex situ environments. This study provides micro-level electrophysiological support for the plant economics spectrum and offer an innovative technical pathway for ex situ conservation, shifting the paradigm from passive simulation to active induction.
SN  - 3071-6268
PB  - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge
LA  - English
ER  - 

@article{Xie2026Electrophy,
  author = {Xiumei Xie and Lili Yang and Zhujing Peng and Mingkai Wu},
  title = {Electrophysiological Profiling Reveals the “Slow” Physiological Strategy and Endangerment Mechanism of the Rare and Endangered Orchid Cremastra appendiculata},
  journal = {Journal of Plant Electrobiology},
  year = {2026},
  volume = {1},
  number = {2},
  pages = {74-81},
  doi = {10.62762/JPE.2026.747319},
  url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JPE.2026.747319},
  abstract = {The conservation of rare and endangered medicinal plants, such as Cremastra appendiculata, is hindered by a limited understanding of their intrinsic endangerment mechanisms. This study employed a plant vitality analyzer (model: ZT-FIA-1, Jiangsu Zhongtian Zhigan Life Data Co., Ltd., China) to systematically measure 50 electrophysiological kinetic parameters in the leaves of C. appendiculata and the fast-growing reference species Isatis tinctoria. Parameters encompassed water metabolism, nutrient transport, dielectric substance translocation, energy metabolism, and comprehensive stress resistance. Compared with I. tinctoria, C. appendiculata exhibited significantly higher intrinsic resistance (IR: \( 13.84 \pm 13.95 \) vs. \( 2.88 \pm 5.17 \), P = 0.011) and significantly lower intracellular water-holding capacity (IWHC: \( 40.69 \pm 36.65 \) vs. \( 124.19 \pm 176.48 \), P = 0.004), intracellular water transport rate (IWTR: \( 3.26 \pm 2.74 \) vs. \( 22.23 \pm 34.73 \), P = 0.006), active nutrient transport capacity (NAC: \( 1.28 \pm 1.19 \) vs. \( 9.38 \pm 11.13 \), P = 0.002), and metabolic flux (MF: \( 186.83 \pm 316.82 \) vs. \( 183,362.05 \pm 291,467.32 \), P = 0.001). No significant differences were observed in energy investment parameters (e.g., \$\Delta\$GR: \( 130.81 \pm 68.19 \) vs. \( 156.27 \pm 147.54 \), P = 0.744). These results indicate that C. appendiculata adheres to a conservative 'slow' strategy characterized by low metabolic vigor, low active transport capacity, and high energy maintenance costs. Based on these findings, we propose the 'metabolism–energy–adaptation trade-off hypothesis,' which explains that the intrinsic cause of endangerment lies in a fundamental mismatch between its evolutionarily conserved slow strategy and resource fluctuations in ex situ environments. This study provides micro-level electrophysiological support for the plant economics spectrum and offer an innovative technical pathway for ex situ conservation, shifting the paradigm from passive simulation to active induction.},
  keywords = {Cremastra appendiculata, Isatis tinctoria, electrophysiology, endangerment mechanism, life-history strategy, metabolism–energy–adaptation trade-off},
  issn = {3071-6268},
  publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}