Acta Physiologiae Plantarum

Singh, Pramod; Gautam, Shruti

doi: 10.1007/s11738-013-1279-9pmid: N/A

Salinity stress is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting plant growth and productivity globally. In order to improve the yields of plants growing under salt stress bear remarkable importance to supply sustainable agriculture. Acclimation of plants to salinized condition depends upon activation of cascade of molecular network involved in stress sensing/perception, signal transduction, and the expression of specific stress-related genes and metabolites. Isolation of salt overly sensitive (SOS) genes by sos mutants shed us light on the relationship between ion homeostasis and salinity tolerance. Regulation of antioxidative system to maintain a balance between the overproduction of reactive oxygen species and their scavenging to keep them at signaling level for reinstating metabolic activity has been elucidated. However, osmotic adaptation and metabolic homeostasis under abiotic stress environment is required. Recently, role of phytohormones like Abscisic acid, Jasmonic acid, and Salicylic acid in the regulation of metabolic network under osmotic stress condition has emerged through crosstalk between chemical signaling pathways. Thus, abiotic stress signaling and metabolic balance is an important area with respect to increase crop yield under suboptimal conditions. This review focuses on recent developments on improvement in salinity tolerance aiming to contribute sustainable plant yield under saline conditions in the face of climate change.

Xu, Teng-Fei; Xiang, Jiang; Li, Feng-Ju; Li, Tie-Mei; Yu, Yi-He; Wang, Yue-Jin; Xu, Yan

doi: 10.1007/s11738-013-1269-ypmid: N/A

Among the 17 plant pathogenesis-related (PR) protein families, only PR10 family is intracellular and cytosolic. PR proteins are expressed in response to pathogen challenge and abiotic stresses in higher plants. However, the molecular mechanisms of their actions remain poorly understood. In a previous work, we isolated a PR10 gene from Erysiphe necator-resistant Chinese wild Vitis sp. (Baihe-35-1) and it was designated as VpPR10.1. In this study, yeast two-hybrid method was used to screen proteins interacting with VpPR10.1 proteins. Twenty-one ESTs were isolated and sequenced. All sequences were compared using BLASTx to identify presumptive orthologs. Several proteins associated with VpPR10.1 protein were screened, including CNR8, UFGT6, HSP, DEAD-box, Trx h2, Grx C9 and GLOX. These proteins are closely related to defensive action of plants against pathogens and abiotic stresses. Our results reveal that VpPR10.1 gene may be involved in hormone signaling, programmed cell death and defense responses of grapevine.

Tarchoune, Imen; Baâtour, Olfa; Harrathi, Jamel; Hamdaoui, Ghaith; Lachaâl, Mokhtar; Ouerghi, Zeineb; Marzouk, Brahim

doi: 10.1007/s11738-013-1271-4pmid: N/A

The effects of two sodium salts on growth, fatty acids, and essential oil compositions were investigated in a medicinal and aromatic plant, Ocimum basilicum cultivated in hydroponic medium. Plants were subjected to an equimolar concentration of Na2SO4 (25 mM) and NaCl (50 mM) for 15 days. Our results showed that leaf growth rate was more depressed by 25 mM Na2SO4 than by 50 mM NaCl. The total fatty acid contents did not show any change in plants. α-Linolenic, palmitic, and linoleic acids were the major fatty acids. The identification of basil leaf fatty acids has not been previously studied and this work revealed the predominance of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Under both salts, leaf fatty acid composition remained unchanged. Regarding the essential oil yield, it decreased significantly by 28 % under 25 mM Na2SO4 and showed an increase by 27 % under 50 mM NaCl. The major volatile compound in leaves was linalool with 34.3 % of total essential oil constituents, followed by eugenol (19.8 %), 1.8-cineole (14.4 %) and methyl eugenol (5.2 %). Further, levels of eugenol and methyl eugenol were most modulated by salt, and the negative correlation between these two compounds reflects the stimulation of O-methyltransferase activity under both salts.

Hajiboland, Roghieh; Bahrami-Rad, Sara; Bastani, Soodabeh; Tolrà, Roser; Poschenrieder, Charlotte

doi: 10.1007/s11738-013-1272-3pmid: N/A

Boron (B) re-translocation is an important factor determining tolerance to B deficiency in plants. In this work growth, B content of leaves with different ages, B partitioning between soluble and cell wall (CW) fractions, and B re-translocation were investigated in tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) plants grown hydroponically without (<2.5 μM) and with adequate (46 μM) B supply. Under B deficiency, the proportion of CW bound B increased in the old leaves but decreased in roots. Contrastingly, the proportion of CW bound B was not influenced by B supply in the young leaves. A continuous reduction of B content was observed in all fully expanded leaves as well as in roots of low B plants. Taken together, these results revealed considerable re-translocation of B from mature to growing leaves. Leaf extract and phloem exudate samples were analyzed and sucrose, glucose, and fructose were detected while xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, maltose, galactose, cellobiose or rafinose were not found in these samples. In the leaf extracts, concentration of sucrose increased under B deficiency conditions, concentration of glucose decreased, while that of fructose remained unchanged. Our results provide circumstantial evidence for a considerable re-translocation of B in tea plants despite lacking polyol compounds.

Wojtyla, Łukasz; Kosmala, Arkadiusz; Garnczarska, Małgorzata

doi: 10.1007/s11738-013-1273-2pmid: 25834294

Germination is the first step of plant growth in plant life cycle. An embryonic radicle protruding the seed coat is the first part of plant which has direct contact with external environment including salt-affected soil. In embryo axes, mitochondria are the main energy producer. To understand better salinity impact on mitochondria functioning, this study was focused on the effect of NaCl stress onto mitochondria proteome. Mitochondria were isolated from yellow lupine (Lupine luteus L. ‘Mister’) embryo axes cultured in vitro for 12 h with 250 and 500 mM NaCl. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of mitochondrial proteins isolated from NaCl-treated axes demonstrated significant changes in proteins abundances as a response to salinity treatment. Twenty-one spots showing significant changes in protein expression profiles both under 250 and 500 mM NaCl treatment were selected for tandem mass spectrometry identification. This approach revealed proteins associated with different metabolic processes that represent enzymes of tricarboxylic acid cycle, mitochondrial electron transport chain, enzymes and proteins involved in mitochondria biogenesis and stresses response. Among proteins involved in mitochondria biogenesis, mitochondrial import inner membrane translocase, subunit Tim17/22, mitochondrial-processing peptidase subunit alpha-1, mitochondrial elongation factor Tu and chaperonins CPN60 were revealed. Finally, formate dehydrogenase 1 was found to accumulate in lupine embryo axes mitochondria under salinity. The functions of identified proteins are discussed in relation to salinity stress response, including salinity-induced PCD.

Wu, Peng; Qin, Zhiwei; Zhao, Wen; Zhou, Xiuyan; Wu, Tao; Xin, Ming; Guo, Qianqian

doi: 10.1007/s11738-013-1274-1pmid: N/A

High-throughput tag-sequencing (Tag-seq) from Illumina analysis, which is based on the Solexa Genome Analyzer platform, was applied to analyze the gene expression profiling of propamocarb (PM) treatment and control in cucumber fruit. Approximately 3.6 million complete clean sequence tags at PM treatment or control library were obtained with approximately 0.1 million distinct clean tag sequences. Approximately 41.79–43.15 % of the distinct clean tags were mapped unambiguously to the unigene database, and 32.54–33.46 % of the distinct clean tags were mapped to the cucumber genome database. The profiling analysis of the differentially expressed genes revealed the up-regulation of 546 genes and the down-regulation of 185 genes with PM response. Furthermore, the differentially expressed genes mainly linked to pesticide detoxication, response to stress/stimulus, transporter/signaling, and some important transcription factors. Finally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using 16 genes independently verified the tag-mapped results. The present study reveals the comprehensive mechanisms of PM response in cucumber fruit.

Ansari, Mohammad; Al-Ghamdi, Ahmad; Usmani, Salma; Kumar, Rahul; Nuru, Adgaba; Singh, Kuldeep; Dhaliwal, Harcharan

doi: 10.1007/s11738-013-1275-0pmid: N/A

Diploid wheat, Triticum monococcum L. (einkorn) is an ideal plant material for wheat functional genomics. Brittle culm mutant was identified by screening of the ethyl methane sulphonate-treated M 2 progenies of a T. monococcum accession pau14087 by banding the plant parts manually. The brittle culm mutant with drooping leaves, early flowering, reduced tiller numbers and susceptible to lodging had also exhibited brittleness in all plant parts than the wild-type parents. Comprehensive mechanical strength, histological, biochemical, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses of brittle culm mutant supplemented and complemented the findings that the mutant had defective cellulose biosynthesis pathway and deposition of cell wall materials on secondary cell wall of mechanical tissues. Microscopic studies demonstrated that the decrease in cellulose contents resulted in the irregular cell wall organization in xylem vessels of leaf vascular bundles. To map the brc5 mutant, mapping populations were developed by crossing the brittle culm mutant with wild Triticum boeoticum acc. pau5088, having non-brittle characters. The brittle culm mutation was mapped between SSR markers, Xcfd39 and Xgwm126 on 5AmL chromosome of T. monococcum, with genetic distances of 2.6 and 4.8 cM, respectively. The brc5 mutant mapped on 5AmL, being distinct from a previously mapped brittle culm mutant in wheat, has been designated as brc5. The work on fine mapping and map-based cloning of brc5 gene regulating synthesis and deposition of cellulose on the secondary cell wall is in progress.

Sokkar, Nadia; El-Gindi, Omyma; Sayed, Sawsan; Mohamed, Shaza; Ali, Zeinab; Alfishawy, Iman

doi: 10.1007/s11738-013-1276-zpmid: N/A

The phytochemical analysis of the ethanolic extract of branches of Cotoneaster horizontalis, Decne revealed the presence of: β-carotene, ascorbic acid and less amounts of α-tocopherol and amygdalin (vitamin B17) in proportions of: 2,500, 70, 0.093, 0.334 mg 100 g−1, respectively. Acute oral toxicity test revealed its safety profile. In vitro study revealed its good 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging and anticancer activities. Invivo study, simultaneous administration of this extract at a dose of 100 or 200 mg kg−1 body weight for 4 weeks, exhibited a significant protection in a dose-dependant manner against hepatotoxicity induced by repeated dose of acetaminophen (1 g kg−1 body weight day−1, p.o.) by preserving the liver function parameters, hepatic redox state and serum lipid profile near the healthy levels. Consequently, in vitro culture was carried out on full or half strength of Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with different concentrations of benzyl amino purine or kinetin provided shootlets production; different concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid and naphthalene acetic acid showed an increase of callus. Determination of α-tocopherol and amygdalin in different shootlets and callus extracts showed a pronounced increases up to 30.62 and 3.69 mg 100 g−1 in shootlet extract, respectively as well as 26.61 and 12.71 mg 100 g−1 in callus extract, respectively, as compared with those of the mother plant (0.76 and 0.11 mg 100 g−1 extract, respectively).

Karuppanapandian, Thirupathi; Kim, Wook

doi: 10.1007/s11738-013-1277-ypmid: N/A

The effect of 100 μM cobalt (Co) on plant growth and on biochemical parameters indicative of oxidative stress was investigated in a hydroponic experiment. The responses of antioxidant enzymes and compounds of the ascorbate–glutathione (AsA–GSH) cycle were also assessed on the hyperaccumulating plant, Indian mustard (Brasssica juncea L.). The effect of excess Co was associated with a significant increase in the levels of proline, carbonylated protein, malondialdehyde, superoxide anion (O 2 ·− ), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and resulted in the accumulation of Co. Co toxicity was associated with an increase in the volume of palisade and spongy cells, and a reduction in the number of chloroplasts per cell. Co-induced cell death was characterized by DNA fragmentation and a 36 kDa DNase activity. Despite decreased catalase activity, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and AsA–GSH cycle-related enzymes including monodehydroascorbate reductase, dehydroascorbate reductase, and glutathione reductase exhibited remarkable induction under Co stress. Furthermore, the contents of reduced and oxidized forms of ascorbate and glutathione were significantly increased with Co supplementation. Co treatment led to the activation of 44 and 46 kDa mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and indicated the role of the MAPK cascade in transducing Co-mediated signals. The present results suggest that excess Co reduces seedling growth by inducing oxidative stress related to lipid peroxidation and overproduction of O 2 ·− and H2O2. The stimulated activities of antioxidative enzymes and induction of MAPKs did not reverse the oxidative stress caused by Co-induced reactive oxygen species generation in Indian mustard seedlings.

Fan, Hong; Wei, Jun; Li, Ting; Li, Zheng; Guo, Ning; Cai, Yong; Lin, Yi

doi: 10.1007/s11738-013-1278-xpmid: N/A

DNA methylation plays an important role in regulating gene expression in plants. In the experiment, we studied effects of cold on DNA methylation variation in upland cotton. Using the methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism procedure, we chose 66 pairs of selective amplification primers to assess the status and levels of cytosine methylation. The hemimethylation of the external cytosine and the full methylation of the internal cytosine were scored. As a result, cold triggered the demethylation of hemimethylated or internally full methylated cytosine. With the prolongation of cold treatment, the demethylation loci increased and the methylation loci decreased. Nevertheless, this change could be reverted when cotton was subsequently recovered under normal temperature. In addition, 29 polymorphic bands that appeared in the electrophoretogram were sequenced. By homologous alignment analysis, most of these 29 fragments were identified as genes or DNA clones involved in abiotic stress response. The variation in methylation loci existed at both coding and non-coding regions. Furthermore, the expression of the abiotic stress-related genes, GhCLSD (Seq21), GhARK (Seq22), GhARM (Seq15, Seq18, Seq19 and Seq21) and GhTPS (Seq8), were tested. The results revealed that cold treatment induced down-regulation of GhCLSD, GhARK and GhARM, but up-regulated the expression of GhTPS. These changes were in accordance with the alteration of DNA methylation. Thus, cold may affect the gene expression via changing the methylation status in the cytosine nucleotide.