Kinetics of plant material mass loss and DNA release in freshwater column

In situ microcosm study investigated both the kinetics of plant material mass loss and qualitative and quantitative aspects of DNA content by researching leaf degradation of two specific varieties of tomato (Admiro and Palmiro) in freshwater column incubated for 40 days. A two-compartment first order model fitted both tomato dry matter and DNA content mass loss well. The composite half-decrease times were, respectively, 1.13 ± 0.51 and 1.16 ± 0.47 days for Palmiro and Admiro. The composite half-disappearance times of total DNA in Palmiro and Admiro tomato leaves were, respectively, 0.92 ± 0.31 and 0.88 ± 0.26 days. Genomic analysis indicates that before having been released, a significant amount of DNA may be degraded in plant tissues decomposing in water column. The results of this study confirm the hypothesis that release of plant DNA in aquatic environments can be caused by intracellular nuclease activities in the plants cells and by enzymatic degradation of cell structures by residual microbial activities in leaves.