Changes in γ-aminobutyric acid concentration,gas exchange,and leaf anatomy in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eucalyptus</Emphasis> clones under drought stress and rewatering

Drought stress promotes biochemical and physiological alterations in plant metabolism that limit growth and yield. This study investigated the accumulation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in plant tissue, the stomatal conductance (gs) and changes in leaf anatomy in Eucalyptus following drought stress situation. In this study, eight Eucalyptus clones were evaluated under normal water supply (control) and drought stress conditions (stress). For the control treatment, plants were irrigated every day with an automated system until the soil was saturated, and for the stress treatment, drought stress was imposed by non-irrigation of plants, and pots were covered using plastic sheeting to avoid rainfall and humidity. This study has shown that: (1) all clones decreased gs with increasing vapor pressure deficit (D) in both treatments. All plastics and drought-tolerant clones (except GG) presented lower stomatal sensitivity to D under stress conditions than drought-sensitive clones; (2) GABA concentrations increased fast after drought stress, but we could not find correlation with these changes and resistance to water stress; and (3) all clones increased the number of stomata and reduced leaf thickness after water stress. The finding is that GABA is a fast stress-signaling molecule in Eucalyptus, but the response of gs to D is a best physiological variable to differentiate drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive Eucalyptus clones.     

Genotypic variation in drought stress response and subsequent recovery of wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum aestivum</Emphasis> L.)

Three wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes, Sadovo, Katya and Prelom, with different tolerance to drought were comparatively evaluated in terms of leaf respiratory responses to progressing dehydration and consecutive rewatering. Under drought stress, the respiration of all varieties gradually decreased, as the drought-tolerant Katya showed the most pronounced decline at earlier stages of dehydration. When water stress intensified, this genotype gave relatively stable respiration rates compared with the drought-sensitive varieties. Additionally, dehydrated Katya leaves displayed lower stomatal conductance and higher photosynthesis values, which resulted in greater water use efficiency during the dehydration period. Combination of drought stress and short-term changes in leaf temperature also induced genotype-specific response that differed from the response to drought only. Over the whole temperature range, the leaves of Katya exposed to dehydration for 14 days, showed higher respiration rates compared to the drought-sensitive varieties. The sensitive varieties maintained higher respiration rates under control conditions and mild dehydration, and very low rates under severe drought. In Katya, respiration and photosynthesis were fully restored from the stress within the first day of rewatering. The drought-sensitive genotypes displayed a considerably slower recovering capacity. The results are discussed in terms of possible physiological mechanisms underlying plant tolerance to drought.     

Differentially expressed genes and proteins upon drought acclimation in tolerant and sensitive genotypes of Coffea canephora

The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying drought acclimation in coffee plants by the identification of candidate genes (CGs) using different approaches. The first approach used the data generated during the Brazilian Coffee expressed sequence tag (EST) project to select 13 CGs by an in silico analysis (electronic northern). The second approach was based on screening macroarrays spotted with plasmid DNA (coffee ESTs) with separate hybridizations using leaf cDNA probes from drought-tolerant and susceptible clones of Coffea canephora var. Conilon, grown under different water regimes. This allowed the isolation of seven additional CGs. The third approach used two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to identify proteins displaying differential accumulation in leaves of drought-tolerant and susceptible clones of C. canephora. Six of them were characterized by MALDI-TOF-MS/MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption-time of flight-tandem mass spectrometry) and the corresponding proteins were identified. Finally, additional CGs were selected from the literature, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed to analyse the expression of all identified CGs. Altogether, >40 genes presenting differential gene expression during drought acclimation were identified, some of them showing different expression profiles between drought-tolerant and susceptible clones. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that factors involved a complex network of responses probably involving the abscisic signalling pathway and nitric oxide are major molecular determinants that might explain the better efficiency in controlling stomata closure and transpiration displayed by drought-tolerant clones of C. canephora.     

不同耐旱性水稻幼苗对氧化胁迫的反应

干旱条件下水稻(Oryza sativa L.)耐旱性较强的“湘中籼2号”比耐旱性较弱的“湘早釉12号”O_2~-的产生速率低。百草枯(0.01mmol/L)和H_2O_2(10mmol/L)处理促进干旱对水稻幼苗的伤害,但耐旱性较强的品种伤害较轻。单独用百草枯处理后,耐旱性较强的品种比耐旱性较弱的品种能更大幅度地提高超氧物歧化酶和过氧化物酶的活性;而H_2O_2处理后耐旱性较强的品种能提高过氧化氢酶活性。这些结果表明,耐旱性较强的水稻品种有较强的抗氧化胁迫能力。     

The Effects of NaCl Treatment on Water Relations, Growth, and ABA Content in Barley Cultivars Differing in Drought Tolerance

Changes in transpiration and stomatal conductance and other characteristics of water relations, growth rate, and ABA content have been followed in short- and long-term experiments in two barley cultivars (cv. Michaelovsky and cv. Prairie) with contrasting drought resistance characteristics. The aim of this work was to reveal the importance of stomatal behavior in salt tolerance and also the involvement of ABA in its control. Salinity stress brought about a reduction in stomatal conductance in both cultivars, but the effect was initially more pronounced in the drought-tolerant cv. Prairie than in the drought-sensitive cv. Michaelovsky. The difference between the two cultivars changed with time, and later on transpiration and stomatal conductance became higher in Prairie than in Michaelovsky. In both the short and the long term, the extent of stomatal closure due to salinity correlated with the level of ABA accumulation in the leaves of the plants. Fast stomatal closure was likely to be responsible for growth resumption after an initial arrest by salt treatment and for the maintenance of extension growth later on, thus enabling its higher rate in Prairie than in Michaelovsky plants. Leaves of Prairie accumulated less toxic chloride ions, which may be the result of a lower transpiration rate observed during the first phase of salt treatment. A subsequent increase in stomatal conductance observed in Prairie is likely to ameliorate their gas exchange and maintain photosynthesis and growth. Thus, differences between the cultivars in the stomatal response to salinity changed with time, which may be why there are discrepancies in the attempts to relate stomatal conductance to salt tolerance observed in literature.     

Interactive effects of water stress and xylem-limited bacterial infection on the water relations of a host vine

Xylella fastidiosa, a xylem-limited bacterial pathogen that causes bacterial leaf scorch in its hosts, has a diverse and extensive host range among plant species worldwide. Previous work has shown that water stress enhances leaf scorch symptom severity and progression along the stem in Parthenocissus quinquefolia infected by X. fastidiosa. The objective here was to investigate the mechanisms underlying the interaction of water stress and infection by X. fastidiosa. Using the eastern deciduous forest vine, P. quinquefolia, infection and water availability were manipulated while measuring leaf water potentials (psi(L)), stomatal conductance (g(s)), whole shoot hydraulic conductance (K(h)), per cent xylem embolism, and xylem vessel dimensions. No significant differences in any of the physiological measurements were found between control and infected plants prior to drought. Drought treatment significantly reduced psi(L) and g(s) at all leaf positions throughout the day in late summer in both years of the study. In addition, infection significantly reduced psi(L) and g(s) in the most basal leaf positions in late summer in both years. Whole shoot hydraulic conductance was reduced by both low water and infection treatments. However, per cent embolized vessels and mean vessel diameter were affected by drought treatment only. These results imply that the major effect of infection by X. fastidiosa occurs due to reduced hydraulic conductance caused by clogging of the vessels, and not increased cavitation and embolism of xylem elements. The reduced K(h) caused by X. fastidiosa infection acts additively with the water limitation imposed by Drought stress.     

Effects of water and nitrogen interaction on net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and water-use efficiency in two hybrid poplar clones

We examined the interactions of water and nitrogen availability by subjecting two Populus clones. Tristis and Eugenei, to five soil moisture and three soil nitrogen levels. Nitrogen application significantly increased net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance of flooded Eugenei and Tristis. The onset of flooding caused partial stomatal closure. Net photosynthesis significantly declined after a longer flooding period. Emergence of adventitious roots on the submerged portions of stems in both clones seemingly helped net photosynthesis fully recover in Eugenei and partially recover in Tristis. Under the progressive drought conditions, stomatal conductance was more sensitive to drought than net photosynthesis in both clones. Addition of nitrogen to progressively drying soil induced more stomatal closure in both clones. The highest water-use efficiency was found on the high-N/severe drought zone for Eugenei, whereas it was found on the high-N/mild to moderate drought zone for Tristis.     

Photochemical responses and oxidative stress in two clones of Coffea canephora under water deficit conditions

The effects of water deficit on photochemical parameters and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), as well as, cellular damages were investigated in two clones of Coffea canephora differing in drought tolerance. After 6 days without irrigation, predawn leaf water potential fell to −3.0 MPa that was accompanied by the suppression of net photosynthesis in both clones. The variable to maximum chlorophyll fluorescence ratio remained unchanged regardless of the imposed treatments. Both clones showed a similar decline (about 25%) in the photochemical quenching coefficient, but only the drought-sensitive clone exhibited an enhancement (31%) of thermal deactivation under water deficit conditions. The quantum yield of electron transport decreased similarly in both genotypes. Under drought conditions, activities of SOD, CAT and APX increased to a greater extent in the drought-tolerant clone than in the drought-sensitive one. This seemed to be matched with higher protection against oxidative stress, as judged from the lower levels of lipid peroxidation and electrolyte leakage in the drought-tolerant clone. Thus, the ability to increase the antioxidant system activity in order to limit cellular damages might be an important attribute linked to the drought tolerance in C. canephora.     

Stomatal factors and vulnerability of stem xylem to cavitation in poplars

The relationships between the vulnerability of stem xylem to cavitation, stomatal conductance, stomatal density, and leaf and stem water potential were examined in six hybrid poplar (P38P38, Walker, Okanese, Northwest, Assiniboine and Berlin) and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) clones. Stem xylem cavitation resistance was examined with the Cavitron technique in well-watered plants grown in the greenhouse. To investigate stomatal responses to drought, plants were subjected to drought stress by withholding watering for 5 (mild drought) and 7 (severe drought) days and to stress recovery by rewatering severely stressed plants for 30 min and 2 days. The clones varied in stomatal sensitivity to drought and vulnerability to stem xylem cavitation. P38P38 reduced stomatal conductance in response to mild stress while the balsam poplar clone maintained high leaf stomatal conductance under more severe drought stress conditions. Differences between the severely stressed clones were also observed in leaf water potentials with no or relatively small decreases in Assiniboine, P38P38, Okanese and Walker. Vulnerability to drought-induced stem xylem embolism revealed that balsam poplar and Northwest clones reached loss of conductivity at lower stem water potentials compared with the remaining clones. There was a strong link between stem xylem resistance to cavitation and stomatal responsiveness to drought stress in balsam poplar and P38P38. However, the differences in stomatal responsiveness to mild drought suggest that other drought-resistant strategies may also play a key role in some clones of poplars exposed to drought stress.     

水稻幼苗叶绿体保护系统对干旱的反应

干旱条件下水稻耐旱品种湘中籼２号比不耐旱品种湘早籼１２号具有较低的质膜相对透性、叶绿素含量降低较少,表明耐旱品种受伤害较轻,两个品种的抗坏血酸。过氧化物酶（ＡｓＡ－ＰＯＤ）均降低,但耐旱品种降低较少。耐旱品种的谷胱甘肽还原酶（ＧＲ）活性在干旱初期提高,不耐旱品种的则变化不大。０．０１ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ的百草枯和０．１ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ的Ｈ２Ｏ２亦能诱导耐旱品种的ＧＲ活性,但对不耐旱品种的ＧＲ活性不受影响,说明可能是干旱诱导的氧化胁迫诱导了ＧＲ活性。干旱条件下两品种的抗坏血酸（ＡｓＡ）和还原型谷胱甘肽（ＧＳＨ）含量均是先升后降,但耐旱品种提高幅度较大。结果表明,耐旱品种的叶绿体保护系统的活性比不耐旱品种的高。     

干旱胁迫下亚精胺对玉米幼苗抗旱性影响的生理生化机制

为探究外源亚精胺(Spd)在增强玉米干旱胁迫耐受性中的作用,以‘先玉335’(干旱不敏感型)和‘丰禾1’(干旱敏感型)为试验材料,采用营养液水培法,研究了15%聚乙二醇(PEG-6000)模拟干旱胁迫下,外源Spd (0.1 mmol·L^-1)对玉米幼苗生长、光合特性、叶绿素含量、渗透调节物质、活性氧生成、膜质过氧化及根系活力的影响.结果表明:干旱胁迫下,外源Spd处理可显著促进干旱胁迫下玉米幼苗的生长;提高叶绿素含量、净光合速率(P_n)、气孔导度(g_s)、蒸腾速率(T_r)和水分利用效率(WUE),减缓‘丰禾1’叶片中胞间CO₂浓度(C_i)的升高,有效减轻干旱胁迫对玉米幼苗叶片光合作用的气孔限制和非气孔限制;增加脯氨酸和可溶性糖的含量;降低O₂^-·生成速率、H₂O₂和丙二醛(MDA)含量、细胞膜透性,有效缓解了胁迫对膜的伤害;增强幼苗根系活力;其中干旱敏感品种‘丰禾1’变化幅度大于耐旱品种‘先玉335’.表明在干旱胁迫下,外源Spd能促进玉米幼苗对光能的捕获与转换,增强光合作用,促进幼苗的生长,并能够通过减少玉米幼苗体内活性氧的产生,增加渗透调节物质的积累以稳定细胞膜系统,提高根系活力,从而增强幼苗对干旱逆境的适应性,且对干旱敏感品种‘丰禾1’的效果更显著.     

小麦叶片光合作用与其渗透调节能力的关系

在缓慢干旱条件下,小麦叶片渗透调节能力在一定范围内随胁迫程度的加剧而增加,而在快速干旱下,渗透调节能力丧失。小麦叶片通过渗透调节使光合速率和气孔导度对水分胁迫的敏感性降低,叶片维持较高的电子传递能力、RuBP羧化酶活性和叶绿体光合能量转换系统活性,并推迟了小麦叶片光合速率受气孔因素限制向叶肉细胞光合活性限制转变的时间。     

Coronatine Alleviates Water Deficiency Stress on Winter Wheat Seedlings

With the aim to determine whether coronatine(COR) alleviates drought stress on wheat,two winter wheat(Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars,ChangWu134(drought-tolerant) and Shan253(drought-sensitive) were studied under hydroponic conditions.Seedlings at the three-leaf stage were cultured in a Hoagland solution containing COR at 0.1 μM for 24 h,and then exposed to 20% polyethylene glycol 6000(PEG6000).Under simulated drought(SD),COR increased the dry weight of shoots and roots of the two cultivars significantly;the root/shoot ratio also increased by 30% for Shan253 and 40% for ChangWu134.Both cultivars treated with COR under SD(0.1COR+PEG) maintained significantly higher relative water content,photosynthesis,transpiration,intercellular concentration of CO2 and stomatal conductance in leaves than those not treated with PEG.Under drought,COR significantly decreased the relative conductivity and malondialdehyde production,and the loss of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl scavenging activity in leaves was significantly alleviated in COR-treated plants.The activity of peroxidase,catalase,glutathione reductase and ascorbate peroxidase were adversely affected by drought.Leaves of plants treated with COR under drought produced less abscisic acid(ABA) than those not treated.Thus,COR might alleviate drought effects on wheat by reducing active oxygen species production,activating antioxidant enzymes and changing the ABA level.     

Photosynthetic responses of the tropical spiny shrub Lycium nodosum (Solanaceae) to drought, soil salinity and saline spray

Water relations and photosynthetic characteristics of plants of Lycium nodosum grown under increasing water deficit (WD), saline spray (SS) or saline irrigation (SI) were studied. Plants of this perennial, deciduous shrub growing in the coastal thorn scrubs of Venezuela show succulent leaves which persist for approx. 1 month after the beginning of the dry season; leaf succulence is higher in populations closer to the sea. These observations suggested that L. nodosum is tolerant both to WD and salinity. In the glasshouse, WD caused a marked decrease in the xylem water potential (psi), leaf osmotic potential (psi(s)) and relative water content (RWC) after 21 d; additionally, photosynthetic rate (A), carboxylation efficiency (CE) and stomatal conductance (gs) decreased by more than 90 %. In contrast, in plants treated for 21 d with a foliar spray with 35 per thousand NaCl or irrigation with a 10 % NaCl solution, psi and RWC remained nearly constant, while psi(s) decreased by 30 %, and A, CE and gs decreased by more than 80 %. An osmotic adjustment of 0.60 (SS) and 0.94 MPa (SI) was measured. Relative stomatal and mesophyll limitations to A increased with both WD and SS, but were not determined for SI-treated plants. No evidence of chronic photoinhibition due to any treatment was observed, since maximum quantum yield of PSII, Fv/Fm, did not change with either drought in the field or water or salinity stress in the glasshouse. Nevertheless, WD and SI treatments caused a decrease in the photochemical (qP) and an increase in the non-photochemical (qN) quenching coefficients relative to controls; qN was unaffected by the SS treatment. The occurrence of co-limitation of A by stomatal and non-stomatal factors in plants of L. nodosum may be associated with the extended leaf duration under water or saline stress. Additionally, osmotic adjustment may partly explain the relative maintenance of A and gs in the SS and SI treatments and the tolerance to salinity of plants of this species in coastal habitats.     

Expression profiling of rice cultivars differing in their tolerance to long-term drought stress

Understanding the molecular basis of plant performance under water-limiting conditions will help to breed crop plants with a lower water demand. We investigated the physiological and gene expression response of drought-tolerant (IR57311 and LC-93-4) and drought-sensitive (Nipponbare and Taipei 309) rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars to 18 days of drought stress in climate chamber experiments. Drought stressed plants grew significantly slower than the controls. Gene expression profiles were measured in leaf samples with the 20 K NSF oligonucleotide microarray. A linear model was fitted to the data to identify genes that were significantly regulated under drought stress. In all drought stressed cultivars, 245 genes were significantly repressed and 413 genes induced. Genes differing in their expression pattern under drought stress between tolerant and sensitive cultivars were identified by the genotype x environment (G x E) interaction term. More genes were significantly drought regulated in the sensitive than in the tolerant cultivars. Localizing all expressed genes on the rice genome map, we checked which genes with a significant G x E interaction co-localized with published quantitative trait loci regions for drought tolerance. These genes are more likely to be important for drought tolerance in an agricultural environment. To identify the metabolic processes with a significant G x E effect, we adapted the analysis software MapMan for rice. We found a drought stress induced shift toward senescence related degradation processes that was more pronounced in the sensitive than in the tolerant cultivars. In spite of higher growth rates and water use, more photosynthesis related genes were down-regulated in the tolerant than in the sensitive cultivars.     

Water status of drought-resistant and drought-sensitive sorghum treated with ethephon

The effects of ethephon on stomatal resistance, water potential, osmotic potential, turgor potential, and ethylene production were determined on leaves of a drought-resistant (KS 65) and a drought-sensitive (IA 25) genotype of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] grown under wellwatered or drought-stressed conditions. With both sufficient and limited water supply, ethephon had no effect on the adaxial, abaxial, or total stomatal resistance of either genotype. For both water treatments, the adaxial stomatal resistance of the drought-sensitive genotype was higher than that of the drought-resistant genotype. Ethephon increased the amount of ethylene produced by the plants under both levels of water. For plants with sufficient water, water potentials of both genotypes were lowered by ethephon. Ethephon had no effect on the water potentials under drought or on the osmotic potentials under either water regime. With drought, the turgor potential of the drought-sensitive genotype, but not that of the drought-resistant, was increased by ethephon.