Severe nickel stress constrains phenotypic plasticity and induces developmental canalisation in Catharanthus roseus

Severe nickel stress constrains phenotypic plasticity and induces developmental canalisation in Catharanthus roseus | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Severe nickel stress constrains phenotypic plasticity and induces developmental canalisation in Catharanthus roseus Antonia Valdirene Teixeira Miranda Franco, Millena Miranda Franco, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8757682/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Phenotypic plasticity is a key strategy for plant acclimatisation; however, its limits under lethal stress remain poorly understood. This study investigated the morphophysiological responses and changes in the developmental architecture of Catharanthus roseus subjected to acute nickel stress (70 and 130 mg kg⁻¹). While the intermediate dose induced a succulence-by-dilution mechanism and an avoidance syndrome (etiolation), severe stress caused metabolic collapse, evidenced by a 28% reduction in chlorophyll and stagnation of the absolute growth rate. Nevertheless, allometric analysis revealed an unexpected phenomenon of developmental canalisation under maximum toxicity. In contrast to the control plants, which exhibited high phenotypic plasticity (high residual variability), plants under 130 mg kg⁻¹ Ni adopted a strictly coordinated and mathematically predictable growth pattern (R²= 0,93; MAPE = 3.97%). These results suggest that, faced with the energy scarcity imposed by severe toxicity, C. roseus sacrifices its developmental plasticity, channeling resources toward a rigid survival phenotype. This study provides new perspectives on plant allometry under stress, demonstrating that extreme toxicity can act as a canalising force that reduces developmental "noise". Phenotypic plasticity Developmental canalisation Nickel toxicity Plant allometry Catharanthus roseus Full Text Additional Declarations Author Contribution Antônia Valdirene Teixeira Miranda Franco : Writing — original draft, Supervision, Conceptualisation, Review and editing, Experimentation; Millena Miranda Franco : Data analysis and Software, Writing — Original draft preparation; Iasmim Miranda Franco : Experimentation, Writing — Original draft preparation and revision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 04 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 02 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8757682","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":608343518,"identity":"46d9b70c-9a9b-4df7-93c6-edd4be2e79d5","order_by":0,"name":"Antonia Valdirene Teixeira Miranda Franco","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Minas Gerais: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Antonia","middleName":"Valdirene Teixeira Miranda","lastName":"Franco","suffix":""},{"id":608343519,"identity":"7e7e7aaa-3608-46bf-9282-fb30c5885344","order_by":1,"name":"Millena Miranda Franco","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAoElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZubGA0BKDswmUgtjA0iLMQlaGCBaEhuI1qLbDtTycYdd+obzZw8wF+4hQovZYcaGgzPPJOduuJGXwDzjGZFaDvO2MQO18Bgw8xwgVsvftvp0g/NnSNHC2HY4weBADglaDva2HTecCfTL4RlEaTl/+OCDn23V8nznzx58XECMFiTAw0CiBpCWUTAKRsEoGAVYAQBZ3TzLBy13iQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0292-0797","institution":"University of Sao Paulo: Universidade de Sao Paulo","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Millena","middleName":"Miranda","lastName":"Franco","suffix":""},{"id":608343520,"identity":"9d8a7ba1-2ae0-469c-9180-8a791b632a66","order_by":2,"name":"Iasmim Miranda Franco","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Minas Gerais: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Iasmim","middleName":"Miranda","lastName":"Franco","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-01 16:31:24","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8757682/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8757682/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105563996,"identity":"d393b7f8-82d2-4ce0-8c7a-b13018034a54","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:48:24","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1162401,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8757682/v1_covered_e0572e00-51ca-4a8f-8e3c-e91c44d28a2e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAntônia Valdirene Teixeira Miranda Franco\u003c/strong\u003e: Writing — original draft, Supervision, Conceptualisation, Review and editing, Experimentation; \u003cstrong\u003eMillena Miranda Franco\u003c/strong\u003e: Data analysis and Software, Writing — Original draft preparation;\u003cstrong\u003e Iasmim Miranda Franco\u003c/strong\u003e: Experimentation, Writing — Original draft preparation and revision. 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This study investigated the morphophysiological responses and changes in the developmental architecture of \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e subjected to acute nickel stress (70 and 130 mg kg⁻\u0026sup1;). While the intermediate dose induced a succulence-by-dilution mechanism and an avoidance syndrome (etiolation), severe stress caused metabolic collapse, evidenced by a 28% reduction in chlorophyll and stagnation of the absolute growth rate. Nevertheless, allometric analysis revealed an unexpected phenomenon of developmental canalisation under maximum toxicity. In contrast to the control plants, which exhibited high phenotypic plasticity (high residual variability), plants under 130 mg kg⁻\u0026sup1; Ni adopted a strictly coordinated and mathematically predictable growth pattern (R\u0026sup2;= 0,93; MAPE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.97%). 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