Thermotolerance and antioxidant systems in Agrostis stolonifera: involvement of salicylic acid, abscisic acid, calcium, hydrogen peroxide, and ethylene

This study investigated whether pre-treating plants with specific putative signaling components and heat acclimation would induce tolerance of a cool-season grass, creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera var. palustris), to subsequent heat stress and whether thermotolerance induction of those pretreatments was associated with the regulation of antioxidant regenerating enzymes. The treatments included foliar application of salicylic acid (SA), abscisic acid (ABA), calcium chloride (CaCl2), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC, a precursor of ethylene prior to the exposure of plants to heat stress (35 degrees C) in a growth chamber. Physiological measurements including turf quality, leaf photosynthetic rate, and levels of oxidative damage demonstrated that all treatments increased heat tolerance. The better heat tolerance for pre-treated plants as compared to controls was related to the protection of oxidative damage under heat stress. APX activity increased over the first 2 days and 5 days of heating for ACC and CaCl2 respectively, but for only 12 h for H2O2. SA and ABA pre-treatments had no effects on APX activity earlier, but maintained APX activity at a significantly higher level than in controls after 24 h of heating. SA and ABA pre-treatments had no effects on POX activity. ACC treatment significantly increased POX activity. Pre-treatment with CaCl2, H2O2, and HA reduced POX activity, particularly during the later phase of heating. Plants treated with SA, CaCl2, H2O2 and HA had lower CAT activity than their control plants prior to heating and within 48 h of heat stress. ABA and ACC pre-treatments maintained higher CAT activity than the controls after 48 h of heating. ACC, CaCl2, or HA pre-treatments increased SOD activity only before 5 days of heat stress. SA and ABA pre-treatments had less effect on APX activity earlier under heat stress. These results suggest that specific groups of potential signaling molecules may induce tolerance of creeping bentgrass to heat stress by reducing oxidative damage.     

Salicylic acid induces physiological and biochemical changes in three Red bayberry (Myric rubra) genotypes under water stress

Water stress is one of the main environmental stresses that affect plant growth and development. Salicylic acid (SA) induces water stress tolerance in plants. In this study, the effect of exogenous SA on physiological and biochemical process in Red bayberry (Myric rubra) seedlings, of three different genotypes, that were grown under water stress (soil ranging from 20 to 50 % of field capacity) was evaluated. Results showed that water stress severely affected the relative water content (RWC), photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and enzymes activities. Genotypes differed in RWC, Chlorophyll content, gas exchange parameter, antioxidant enzymes activities and proline, and the genotype Biqi had the RWC, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and enzymes activities greater than the other two genotypes Wangdao and Shenhong. SA treated plants showed, in general, a higher RWC, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, superoxide dismutase activity and proline content, and a lower relative electrolyte conductivity, methane dicarboxylic aldehyde content and catalase activity compared to those of untreated seedlings. These results signified the role of SA in diminishing the negative effects of drought on Red bayberry plants and suggest that SA could be used as a potential growth regulator, for improving plant growth under water stress.     

The role of calcium in improving photosynthesis and related physiological and biochemical attributes of spring wheat subjected to simulated acid rain

The response of photosynthesis parameters, catalase, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activity, malondialdehyde, proline, chlorophyll, yield and yield components to foliar application of calcium and simulated acid rain in wheat were investigated. Foliar treatment of calcium led to significant increases in the photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, proline, chlorophyll, yield and yield components in plants subjected to acid rain. Antioxidant enzyme activity and lipid peroxidation in the wheat leaves decreased because of calcium foliar application. Calcium hindered degradation of the rubisco subunits under acid rain treatment compared with water-treated plants. Results suggest that acid rain induces the production of free radicals resulting in lipid peroxidation of the cell membrane so that significant increase in antioxidant enzyme activity was observed. In addition, photosynthetic parameters i.e. photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance were drastically suppressed by acid rain. The cellular damage caused by free radicals might be reduced or prevented by a protective metabolism including antioxidative enzymes and calcium. We report that foliar application of calcium before acid rain may ameliorate the adverse effects of acid rain in wheat plants.     

水杨酸对锌胁迫下小麦幼苗生长抑制的缓解效应

以小麦品种‘新麦18’为材料,采用室内水培实验研究了不同浓度水杨酸(SA)处理对300 mg.L-1锌胁迫下小麦种子萌发和幼苗生长的影响。结果表明:在Zn2+胁迫下,小麦种子的发芽势和发芽率、幼苗根长、芽长以及幼苗叶片的可溶性蛋白含量、根系活力显著降低,而脯氨酸和丙二醛(MDA)含量显著增加(P<0.05);外施SA显著提高了Zn2+胁迫下小麦种子的发芽势和发芽率,同时也使Zn2+胁迫7 d后的小麦幼苗的根长、芽长,幼苗叶片的脯氨酸和可溶性蛋白含量以及根系活力显著升高,膜脂过氧化产物MDA含量却显著降低(P<0.05)。由此可见,外施SA可通过提高小麦幼苗根长和芽长来增加幼苗根系活力,通过提高小麦幼苗可溶性蛋白含量、脯氨酸含量来维持细胞膜的稳定性,降低膜脂过氧化伤害程度,从而缓解了Zn2+胁迫对幼苗生长的抑制,并以14 mg.L-1外源水杨酸缓解效果最好。     

Salicylic acid-induced physiological and biochemical changes in lemongrass varieties under water stress

Abstract

Salicylic acid (SA) treatment reduces the damaging action by water deficit on growth and accelerates a restoration of growth processes. The aim of the present work was to study the physiological and biochemical alteration induced by SA in lemongrass plants under stress conditions. Therefore, a pot culture experiment was conducted to test whether SA application at concentration of (10^?5 M) through foliar spray could protect lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus Steud. Wats.) varieties (Neema and Krishna), subjected to drought stress on the basis of growth parameters and biochemical constituents, proline metabolism and quality attributes including citral content. The treatments were as follows: (i) 100% FC + 0 SA; (ii) 75% FC + 0 SA; (iii) 50% FC + 0 SA; (iv) 75% FC + 10^?5 M SA; and (v) 50% FC + 10^?5 M SA. The growth parameters were significantly reduced under the applied water stress levels; however, foliar application of salicylic acid (10^?5 M) improved the growth parameters in stress-affected plants. The plants under water stress exhibited a significant increase in activities of nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase, and electrolyte leakage, proline content, free amino acid and in PEP carboxylase activity. Content and yield of essential oil also significantly decreased in plants that faced water stress. Thus, it was concluded that variety Neema is the more tolerant variety as compared to Krishna on the basis of content and oil yield and well adapted to drought stress conditions.     

Cadmium-induced oxidative damage in mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. & Coss.] plants can be alleviated by salicylic acid

The present study was carried out to examine the effects of salicylic acid (SA) on growth, activities of antioxidant enzymes and some physio-biochemical attributes in mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. & Coss.] plants exposed to cadmium (Cd) stress. Increasing concentrations of Cd led to decreased growth, shoot biomass, relative water content (RWC) and rate of photosynthesis (A). SA allayed the adverse effects of Cd on growth, RWC, and A, but the inhibitory effect of Cd on stomatal conductance (g_s) and transpiration rate (E) was further promoted due to SA treatment. Cadmium-induced oxidative stress increased proline, lipid peroxidation and electrolyte leakage, but on exposure to SA, these parameters showed a marked decrease. Lower concentrations of Cd caused enhanced Cd transport into the plant. Cadmium suppressed the uptake of macro- and micro-nutrients, but exogenous application of SA restored the capability of plants to accumulate essential elements. SA mitigated the Cd-induced inhibition in the growth of mustard plants. Cadmium-induced increase in the activities of some key antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), and glutathione reductase (GR) was reduced by the exogenous application of SA. This reflects that SA might have acted as one of the potential antioxidants in mustard plants under Cd stress.     

Metabolite Responses to Exogenous Application of Nitrogen,Cytokinin, and Ethylene Inhibitors in Relation to Heat-Induced Senescence in Creeping Bentgrass

The exogenous application of ethylene inhibitors, cyotkinins, or nitrogen has previously been shown to suppress heat-induced senescence and improve heat tolerance in cool -season grasses. The objectives of this study were to examine metabolic profiles altered by exogenous treatment of creeping bentgrass with an ethylene inhibitor, cytokinin or nitrogen under heat stress and to determine metabolic pathways regulated by those compounds in association with their effectiveness for improving heat tolerance. Creeping bentgrass (Agostis stolonifera) plants (cv. Penncross) were foliar sprayed with 18 mM carbonyldiamide (N source), 25μM aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG, ethylene inhibitor), 25μM zeatin riboside (ZR, cytokinin), or a water control, and then exposed to 20/15°C (day/night) or 35/30°C (heat stress) in growth chambers. All three exogenous treatments suppressed leaf senescence, as manifested by increased turf quality and chlorophyll content, and reduced electrolyte leakage under heat stress. Polar metabolite profiling identified increases in the content of certain organic acids (i.e. citric and malic acid), sugar alcohols, disaccharides (sucrose), and decreased accumulations of monosaccharides (i.e. glucose and fructose) with exogenous treatment of N, AVG, or ZR at the previously mentioned concentrations when compared to the untreated control under heat stress. Nitrogen stimulated amino acid accumulation whereas AVG and ZR reduced amino acid accumulation compared to the untreated control under heat stress. These results revealed that the alleviation of heat-induced leaf senescence by N, AVG, and ZR could be due to changes in the accumulation of metabolites involved in osmoregulation, antioxidant metabolism, carbon and nitrogen metabolism, as well as stress signaling molecules.     

Salicylic acid and nitric oxide alleviate osmotic stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings

Salicylic acid (SA) and nitric oxide (NO) are reported to alleviate the damaging effects of stress in plants rather similarly when applied at appropriate low concentrations. An experiment was therefore conducted to study the impact of SA, sodium nitroprusside (SNP; as NO donor), and methylene blue (MB; as a guanylate cyclase inhibitor) on wheat seedling performance under osmotic stress. Osmotic stress significantly reduced shoot fresh weight (SFW), chlorophyll contents (Chla, Chlb, total Chl), and membrane stability index (MSI) and also increased malondialdehyde (MDA) level, lipoxygenase (LOX) activity, and hydrogen peroxide production. Moreover, enzymatic antioxidant activities including superoxide dismutase, guaiacol peroxidase, and glutathione reductase activity were enhanced under osmotic stress. On the contrary, SA or SNP pretreatment reduced the damaging effects of osmotic stress by further enhancing the antioxidant activities that led to increased SFW, Chl, and MSI and reduced MDA level and LOX activity. However, pretreatment of plants with MB reversed or reduced the protective effects of SA and SNP suggesting that the protective effects were likely attributed to NO signaling. Therefore, NO may act as downstream of SA signaling in reduction of induced oxidative damage in wheat seedlings.     

外源水杨酸预处理对高温胁迫下白菜耐热性和光合特性的影响

采用叶片喷施水杨酸（SA）的方法,研究高温胁迫下外源SA预处理对‘夏帝’和‘苏州青’2个白菜品种耐热性和光合特性的影响。结果表明：SA预处理降低了高温胁迫下白菜叶片的电解质渗透率、MDA和脯氨酸含量以及净光合速率（R）,从而缓解高温对质膜的过氧化伤害,并且通过提高可溶性糖和可溶性蛋白含量、SOD和POD活性来适应高温环境;然而SA预处理对气孔导度（GS）和蒸腾速率（功的影响在2个品种中变化相反,而对胞间CO2浓度（G）的影响差异不大。与耐热性较强的白菜品种‘夏帝’相比,耐热性较弱的品种‘苏州青’经SA预处理对缓解高温胁迫的影响效果更为明显。     

Effects of Abscisic Acid,Salicylic Acid,Ethylene and Hydrogen Peroxide in Thermotolerance and Recovery for Creeping Bentgrass

Abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), ethylene, and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) may be involved in the regulation of plant responses to heat stress. The objective of this study was to determine whether these signaling molecules are involved in survival at high temperatures in creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera). We investigated the effects of treatment with ABA, SA, H₂O₂, and ACC (an ethylene precursor) on physiological damage occurring in creeping bentgrass during heat stress (35 °C for 1 month). We also compared the effects of chemical application and the induction of thermotolerance using moderate heat stress (30 °C for 24 h). All of the pre-treatments (heat or chemical) resulted in increased tolerance to prolonged heat stress (1 month) compared to control plants. All treated samples showed more green leaves, decreased membrane leakage and reduced oxidative damage compared to control plants. We then measured changes in the endogenous concentration of these chemical components during heat stress (35 °C) and during recovery after a stress treatment (cooling back to 20 °C). An oxidative burst was detected 5 min after the initiation of heat treatment, with the increase in H₂O₂ being detected primarily in the apoplast of the cells in both leaf and root tissues. Free SA was detected only an hour after the initiation of heat stress, and concentration remained low subsequently. Neither ABA nor ethylene concentrations rose during heat stress, but the concentration of both increased during subsequent cooling. These results suggest that the signaling components of interest are involved in thermotolerance in creeping bentgrass, but that the different chemicals are likely to be involved in separate signaling pathways. An oxidative burst and SA may be bona fide heat stress signals, but ABA and ethylene appear to be involved in signaling pathways in response to recovery from heat stress in this species.     

Combined effect of salicylic acid and potassium mitigates drought stress through the modulation of physio-biochemical attributes and key antioxidants in wheat

Improving physio-biochemical traits in wheat under drought stress conditions has received more research attention in recent years for better adaptability and higher yield. In this study, we explored the potential bio-physiological mechanisms underlying improved plant growth and water use efficiency in wheat following soil application of potassium (0 and 100 kg ha^?1) and seed primed salicylic acid (SA) (150 mg per L) and SA foliar application (100 mg per L) under drought stresses (100%, 60% and 30% FC). Two years' average data revealed that inducing drought stress resulted in a decrease in plant pigments content, growth traits, and plant water status however, the influence was substantially reduced with the combined application of K and SA under drought stress conditions. The SA foliar spray in combination with K had increased chlorophyll a (174% and 83%), chl b (130% and 192%), chl a + b (156% and 120), carotenoid (22% and 11%), proline contents (24% and 29%) leaf relative water content (24% and 29%) while reduced leaf WSD (17% and 20%), WRC (6% and 7%), and WUC (23% and 28%) under mild and severe drought stresses, respectively. The increase in grain yield by 41% and 37% with enhanced water use efficiency was obtained with combined foliar SA and K under mild and severe drought stress, respectively indicating its vital role in overcoming the deleterious effects of drought via regulation of osmotic and metabolic processes and stabilizes cell components. RDA analysis revealed that the studied traits were completely discriminated under severe stress than mild or no drought stress. A positive and significant association was found between plant pigments with seed yield whereas a negative and significant correlation existed between water leaf traits and plant pigments. It was concluded that both foliar SA and seed primed SA with K fertilization combat the adverse effects of drought and improved plant water status as well as growth and bio-physiological traits of wheat under drought stress conditions.     

Nitrogen Modulates the Effects of Heat,Drought, and Combined Stresses on Photosynthesis,Antioxidant Capacity,Cell Osmoregulation,and Grain Yield in Winter Wheat

Longer and more intense heat and drought stresses will occur in terrestrial ecosystems in the future. Although the effects of individual heat or drought stress on wheat plants have been largely explored, the regulatory effect of nitrogen (N) on winter wheat under heat, drought, and combined stresses and whether N alleviates damage to wheat plants caused by these stresses remain unclear. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the growth, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme and N metabolism-related enzyme activity, cell membrane system, osmoregulatory substance, and yield responses to heat, drought, and combined stresses in wheat plants and to clarify the regulatory effects of N on the growth, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and yield of wheat plants under stress conditions. The results showed that wheat plant exposure to individual heat or drought stress reduced photosynthesis and N metabolism-related enzyme activities and increased antioxidant enzyme activities, electrolyte leakage (EL), and the contents of MDA (malondialdehyde) and O₂^? (superoxide anion). The above parameters showed typical superposition effects under combined stress. Under individual heat or drought stress, wheat plants treated with a medium (N₂) or high (N₃) N supply maintained higher photosynthesis and N metabolism-related enzyme activities than did those treated with a low N supply (N₁). Enhanced heat and drought tolerance in wheat plants under an appropriate N supply may be attributed to improved antioxidant capacity, as exemplified by increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and to enhanced osmoregulation capacity, as signified by increased contents of soluble sugar (SS), soluble protein (SP), and proline (Pro). Variable importance in projection (VIP) analysis indicated that efficient SOD, POD, CAT, and GR activities and an increased Pro content had superior potential to alleviate heat, drought, and combined stress stresses in wheat plants, and the improvements in growth and grain yield in wheat plants further confirmed the oxidative stress alleviation and stress tolerance enhancement. However, positive effects of N on wheat growth and grain yield under combined stress were usually observed under a low N supply. These results may facilitate future research on the effects of N fertilizer on the stress resistance of winter wheat.

Graphical Abstract

     

Salicylic Acid Application Mitigates Oxidative Damage and Improves the Growth Performance of Barley under Drought Stress

Drought is a severe environmental constraint, causing a significant reduction in crop productivity across the world. Salicylic acid (SA) is an important plant growth regulator that helps plants cope with the adverse effects induced by various abiotic stresses. The current study investigated the potential effects of SA on drought tolerance efficacy in two barley (Hordeum vulgare) genotypes, namely BARI barley 5 and BARI barley 7. Ten-day-old barley seedlings were exposed to drought stress by maintaining 7.5% soil moisture content in the absence or presence of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mM SA. Drought exposure led to severe damage to both genotypes, as indicated by phenotypic aberrations and reduction of dry biomass. On the other hand, the application of SA to drought-stressed plants protected both barley genotypes from the adverse effects of drought, which was reflected in the improvement of phenotypes and biomass production. SA supplementation improved relative water content and proline levels in drought-stressed barley genotypes, indicating the osmotic adjustment functions of SA under water-deficit conditions. Drought stress induced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and superoxide (O₂ ^•− ), and the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA) in the leaves of barley plants. Exogenous supply of SA reduced oxidative damage by restricting the accumulation of ROS through the stimulation of the activities of key antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX). Among the three-applied concentrations of SA, 0.5 mM SA exhibited better mitigating effects against drought stress considering the phenotypic performance and biochemical data. Furthermore, BARI barley 5 showed better performance under drought stress than BARI barley 7 in the presence of SA application. Collectively, our results suggest that SA played a crucial role in improving water status and antioxidant defense strategy to protect barley plants from the deleterious effects of water deficiency.     

Water and salt stress-induced alterations in proline metabolism of Triticum durum seedlings

Many plants accumulate proline as a non-toxic and protective osmolyte under saline or dry conditions. Its accumulation is caused by both the activation of its biosynthesis and inactivation of its degradation. We report here on the alterations induced by water and salt stress in the proline metabolism and amino acid content of 5-day-old seedlings of Triticum durum cv. Simeto. Most of the amino acids showed an increase with the induction of either stress, but proline increased more markedly than did other amino acids. We also measured the activities of two enzymes, Δ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) reductase (EC 1.5.1.2) and proline dehydrogenase (EC 1.5.1.2), which are involved in proline biosynthesis and catabolism, respectively. The activity of P5C reductase was enhanced during both water and salt stress, while proline dehydrogenase was inhibited only during salt stress. The results indicate that synthesis de novo is the predominant mechanism in proline accumulation in durum wheat. Use of a cDNA clone that encodes P5C-reductase from Arabidopsis thaliana , showed no differences in the gene expression between controls and stressed plants, implying that the increase in enzyme activity is unrelated to the expression of this gene.     

Effects of salicylic acid on protein kinase activity and chloroplast D1 protein degradation in wheat leaves subjected to heat and high light stress

In the north of China, wheat plants are often stressed by heat and high light during grain-filling stage, which leads to injury in photosynthetic apparatus and decline in photosynthetic rate. In order to develop a method to protect photosynthetic apparatus in wheat leaves subjected to heat and high light stress, the effects of SA (salicylic acid) and FSBA (5′-p-fluorosulfonylbenzoyl adenosine) on PK (protein kinase) activity, D1 protein degradation and the performance of PSII were investigated in present work. Our results showed that PK activity enhanced under heat and high light stress and declined when stress was removed. FSBA pretreatment resulted in marked decreases in PK activity and D1 protein level, suggesting a correlationship between degradation of D1 protein and phosphorylation. After 2 h of stress, D1 protein level in water-pretreated leaves decreased to 79% of control and then recovered to 81% after 3 h of recovery. This clearly indicated that the damage of D1 protein induced by heat and high light stress was reversible. Compared to the control, SA pretreatment could not only increase PK activity, retard the degradation of D1 protein during heat and high light stress, but also accelerate the recovery of D1 protein level when the stress was removed. Correspondingly, F_v/F_m (maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII), Φ_PSII (actual photochemical efficiency of PSII), ETR (electron transfer rate) and Pn (net photosynthetic rate) in SA-treated leaves were higher than that in leaves of control under both stress and non-stress conditions. Taken together, our results revealed that SA pretreatment could significantly alleviate damages of heat and high light stress on D1 protein and PSII of wheat leaves, and accelerate restoration of photosynthetic function.     

Growth metabolism of wheat under drought stress at the jointing-booting stage

AimsThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of drought stress on primary, secondary metabolites and metabolic pathways in the leaves of wheat, these parameters were evaluated to determine the physiological adaptive mechanisms by which wheat tolerates drought stress at the jointing-booting stage.MethodsA pot experiment was carried out in rain-proof shelter. The relative growth rate, photosynthetic characteristics and metabolism seedlings exposed to stresses lasting 12 days at jointing-booting stage were measured.Important findings The results displayed that the photosynthesis decreased under drought stress, causing the decreases of relative growth rate and dry matter mass. Profiles of 64 key metabolites produced by wheat including organic acids, amino acids, carbohydrates, purine, etc. were examined, 29 of them were changed significantly under drought stress. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that 64% variations can be explained by the two principal components. One-way ANOVA analysis results revealed that long term drought stress decreased malic acid, citric acid and aconitic acid significantly, indicating inhibited tricarboxylic acid cycle. We further found that prolonged drought stress led to accumulation of progressive amino acids (proline, serine, valine) and carbohydrates (myo-inositol, fructose, clucose) in wheat leaves and depletion of transamination products (asparagine, glutamine, γ-aminobutyric acid). These results imply wheat may enhance its drought tolerance mainly by increasing amino acid biosynthesis and glycolysis under water-deficit conditions. Our findings suggest that drought condition altered metabolic networks including transamination, the tricarboxylic cycle, gluconeogenesis/glycolysis, glutamate-mediated proline biosynthesis, and the metabolisms of choline, pyrimidine and purine. This study provides new insights into the metabolic adaptation of wheat to drought stress and important information for developing drought-tolerant wheat cultivars.     

拔节孕穗期小麦干旱胁迫下生长代谢变化规律

采用盆栽试验模拟干旱胁迫(土壤相对含水量40%-45%)在小麦(Triticum aestivum)拔节孕穗期胁迫12天, 测定其生长速率、光合特征及关键代谢产物含量, 以探讨干旱胁迫对拔节孕穗期小麦叶片初生及次生代谢产物的影响及其涉及的代谢途径, 讨论小麦生长代谢变化规律及应答机制。研究表明: 干旱胁迫使小麦叶片气孔受限制导致光合速率下降; 使叶绿素含量下降直接影响光系统II活性, 最终导致生长率降低。检测出的初级代谢产物组包括有机酸、氨基酸、碳水化合物、嘧啶和嘌呤等64个代谢产物, 其中29个代谢产物在干旱胁迫下发生明显的变化。主成分分析(PCA)结果显示全部样本均分布在95%的置信区间内, 两个主成分得分为64%。单因素方差分析结果表明, 干旱胁迫导致苹果酸、柠檬酸、乌头酸等参与三羧酸(TCA)循环的代谢产物消耗明显, 且引起大部分氨基酸(如脯氨酸、丝氨酸、缬氨酸)和碳水化合物(肌醇、果糖、葡萄糖)大量积累的同时转氨基代谢(天冬酰胺、谷氨酰胺和γ氨基丁酸)产物消耗, 研究证明干旱胁迫明显地促进小麦叶片的糖酵解和氨基酸合成途径, 但抑制了TCA循环和转氨基反应, 加速氨基酸代谢网络向脯氨酸合成转变过程。这些结果表明干旱胁迫引起了转氨基反应、TCA循环、糖酵解/糖异生、谷氨酸介导的脯氨酸合成, 以及嘧啶和嘌呤等代谢网络系统广泛的变化, 说明小麦在合成大量的氨基酸和碳水化合物类物质的同时也消耗了大量的能量, 暗示了糖异生到脯氨酸合成的转变。     

Interaction of salicylic acid and ethylene and their effects on some physiological and biochemical parameters in canola plants (Brassica napus L.)

Environmental stresses, such as cold, heat, salinity, and drought, induce ethylene production and oxidative stress and cause damage in plants. On the other hand, studies have shown that salicylic acid (SA) induced resistance to environmental stresses in plants. In this research, the effects of ethylene on chlorophyll (Chl), carotenoid (Car), anthocyanin, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, dehydroascorbic acid, total ascorbate, lipid peroxidation, and ethylene production in leaves of canola pretreated with SA were studied. The plants were grown in pots until they have four leaves. Leaves were sprayed for two days with three different concentrations of SA (0, 0.5, and 1 mM). The plants were treated for three days with three concentrations of ethylene (0, 50, and 100 ppm). At the end of the ethylene treatments, all examined parameters were measured. The results showed that the ethylene treatments induced lipid peroxidation, while SA mitigated this effect. The ethylene treatment lowered significantly Chl and Car contents and anthocyanin accumulation, but SA alleviated these effects. SA induced an increase in ascorbic acid content in canola plants after the ethylene treatments. Therefore, we concluded that SA played an important role in the alleviation of damages caused by stress conditions.