Tolerance to Water Stress in Tomato Cultivars

Photosynthetica - The effects of plant water stress imposed at vegetative, flowering, and fruiting stages of four cultivars of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) on net photosynthetic rate (P...     

Polyamine Accumulation in Transgenic Tomato Enhances the Tolerance to High Temperature Stress

Polyamines play an important role in plant response to abiotic stress. S-adenosyl-I-methionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) is one of the key regulatory enzymes in the biosynthesis of polyamines. In order to better understand the effect of regulation of polyamine biosynthesis on the tolerance of high-temperature stress in tomato, SAMDC Cdna isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was introduced into tomato genome by means of Agrobacterium tumefaciens through leaf disc transformation. Transgene and expression was confirmed by Southern and Northern blot analyses, respectively. Transgenic plants expressing yeast SAMDC produced 1.7- to 2.4-fold higher levels of spermidine and spermine than wild-type plants under high temperature stress, and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity and the protection of membrane lipid peroxidation was also observed. This subsequently improved the efficiency of CO2 assimilation and protected the plants from high temperature stress, which indicated that the transgenic tomato presented an enhanced tolerance to high temperature stress (38℃) compared with wild-type plants, Our results demonstrated clearly that increasing polyamine biosynthesis in plants may be a means of creating high temperature-tolerant germplasm.     

过表达单脱氢抗坏血酸还原酶基因提高番茄抗UV-B胁迫能力

以野生型（WT）和转正义叶绿体单脱氢抗坏血酸还原酶基因（LeMDAR）番茄为试材,探讨了UV-B胁迫下过表达LeMDAR对番茄抗氧化能力的影响。测定了不同时间uV-B处理下番茄抗坏血酸（AsA）含量,脱氢抗坏血酸（DHA）含量,单脱氢抗坏血酸还原酶（MDAR）活性,光合速率和叶绿素荧光参数等。在UV-B处理下,转基因番茄植株的AsA含量、MDAR酶及抗坏血酸过氧化物酶（APx）活性、H：0：和超氧阴离子清除速率、净光合速率（只）高于野生型番茄。此外,紫外胁迫下,转基因株系丙二醛（MDA）含量和相对电导率（REC）较野生型增加的少。上述结果表明,MDAR对抗抗坏血酸再生具有重要作用,过表达LeMDAR提高了番茄植株抗氧化能力,对光合机构有保护作用。     

Effects of Cytokinin Preparations on the Pools of Pigments and Proteins of Wheat Cultivars Differing in Their Tolerance to Water Stress

Contents of chlorophylls, carotenoids, soluble leaf proteins, and the key enzyme of carbon metabolism—ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO; EC 4.1.1.39)—in young seedlings and adult leaves of the wheat Triticum aestivum L. cultivars Mironovskaya 808 and Lyutescens 758, contrasting in their water stress tolerances, were compared under conditions of normal available water supply, water deficiency, and subsequent rehydration. It was discovered that compounds displaying a cytokinin activity (6-benzylaminopurine, thidiazuron, kartolin-2, and kartolin-4) reduced the decreases in contents of chlorophylls, carotenoids, soluble leaf proteins, and RuBisCO, progressing with development of water stress, as well as contributed to their more rapid recovery. These compounds with cytokinin activity also accelerated restoration of the compounds studied to their initial concentrations during rehydration. The kartolin preparations caused a maximal protective effect. Water stress had a more pronounced negative effect on the cultivar Lyutescens 758. Dehydration resulted in a more extensive destruction of seedlings compared to leaves of adult plants.     

黄瓜种子萌发对NO3-胁迫的响应及耐盐性评价

通过培养皿发芽试验,研究了0、14、98、182 mmol/L NO3-对7个黄瓜品种种子萌发的影响,并用隶属函数法对它们的耐盐性进行综合评价.结果表明:与对照相比较,14 mmol/L NO3-处理使7个黄瓜品种种子的相对发芽率、相对发芽指数、耐盐指数9、6 h后的鲜重、干重和超微弱发光(UWL)强度均增加,而98、182 mmol/L NO3-处理下这些指标均逐渐降低;各幼苗的电解质相对渗漏率在14 mmol/L NO3-处理后降低,而在98、182 mmol/LNO3-处理后其值逐渐增加;随着NO3-浓度的增加,各黄瓜品种的胚根总面积、总长度逐渐减少.各黄瓜品种半致死浓度值(LC50)以津园5号的最大(192.3 mmol/L),新秀4号的最小(105.0 mmol/L).不同黄瓜品种耐盐性的综合评价显示,津园5号、新泰密刺为耐盐品种,新秀4号、神农春五为盐敏感品种,其他为中度耐盐品种.     

水分胁迫下不同抗旱性小麦品种叶片转录因子表达差异研究

通过研究不同抗旱性小麦品种中转录因子表达水平的差异,为阐明小麦抗旱机制奠定基础。依据候选基因序列设计PCR引物,以干旱胁迫后0、3、6、9、12和24 h的小麦叶片为实验材料,以26S rRNA为内参,运用荧光定量PCR技术,检测Wdreb2、Wlip19基因在干旱敏感性和干旱耐受性小麦叶片中的相对表达量。定量PCR结果显示：干旱胁迫后,Wdreb2、Wlip19基因在干旱敏感性小麦叶片中的表达明显低于干旱耐受性小麦,在不同品种叶片中的响应时间和表达趋势存在差异。研究认为,Wdreb2、Wlip19基因在不同品种小麦受到干旱胁迫后的表达差异,与该品种小麦的抗旱能力具有一定的相关性。     

Role of Antioxidant Systems in Wheat Genotypes Tolerance to Water Stress

The role of plant antioxidant systems in stress tolerance was studied in leaves of three contrasting wheat genotypes. Drought imposed at two different stages after anthesis resulted in an increase in H2O2 accumulation and lipid peroxidation and decrease in ascorbic acid content. Antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase and catalase significantly increased under water stress. Drought tolerant genotype C 306 which had highest ascorbate peroxidase and catalase activity and ascorbic acid content also showed lowest H2O2 accumulation and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde content) under water stress in comparison to susceptible genotype HD 2329 which showed lowest antioxidant enzyme activity and ascorbic acid content and highest H2O2 content and lipid peroxidation. HD 2285 which is tolerant to high temperature during grain filling period showed intermediate behaviour. Superoxide dismutase activity, however, did not show significant differences among the genotypes under irrigated as well as water stress condition. It seems that H2O2 scavenging systems as represented by ascorbate peroxidase and catalase are more important in imparting tolerance against drought induced oxidative stress than superoxide dismutase alone. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Enhanced Accumulation of BiP in Transgenic Plants Confers Tolerance to Water Stress

The binding protein (BiP) is an important component of endoplasmic reticulum stress response of cells. Despite extensive studies in cultured cells, a protective function of BiP against stress has not yet been demonstrated in whole multicellular organisms. Here, we have obtained transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv Havana) plants constitutively expressing elevated levels of BiP or its antisense cDNA to analyze the protective role of this endoplasmic reticulum lumenal stress protein at the whole plant level. Elevated levels of BiP in transgenic sense lines conferred tolerance to the glycosylation inhibitor tunicamycin during germination and tolerance to water deficit during plant growth. Under progressive drought, the leaf BiP levels correlated with the maintenance of the shoot turgidity and water content. The protective effect of BiP overexpression against water stress was disrupted by expression of an antisense BiP cDNA construct. Although overexpression of BiP prevented cellular dehydration, the stomatal conductance and transpiration rate in droughted sense leaves were higher than in control and antisense leaves. The rate of photosynthesis under water deficit might have caused a degree of greater osmotic adjustment in sense leaves because it remained unaffected during water deprivation, which was in marked contrast with the severe drought-induced decrease in the CO(2) assimilation in control and antisense leaves. In antisense plants, the water stress stimulation of the antioxidative defenses was higher than in control plants, whereas in droughted sense leaves an induction of superoxide dismutase activity was not observed. These results suggest that overexpression of BiP in plants may prevent endogenous oxidative stress.     

Comparison of Hexaploid and Tetraploid Wheat Cultivars in their Responses to Water Stress

We studied the effect of water stress imposed at anthesis and pre-anthesis stages on oxidative stress and antioxidant activity in four wheat cultivars, two hexaploid Triticum aestivum cultivars, drought resistant cv. C 306 and drought susceptible cv. Hira, and two tetraploid cultivars, T. durum cv. A 9-30-1 and T. dicoccum cv. HW 24. Water stress decreased relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), and increased H₂O₂ and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents as well as activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (Cat) and peroxidase (POX) in all the genotypes at all the stages. Both the tetraploid cultivars showed higher RWC, MSI and SOD activity, and lower H₂O₂ and MDA contents under water stress than hexaploid ones. Cat and POX activities were highest in C 306.     

小叶蚊母及其不同品系的耐盐性研究

采用盐水浇灌试验,设置0mmol·L-1(对照)、80mmol·L-1(轻度盐化)、100mmol·L-1(中度盐化)、200mmol·L-1(重度盐化)NaCl和300mmol·L-1(盐土)溶液共5个盐分梯度,通过分析小叶蚊母叶片受害面积比例、相对含水量、相对电导率、叶绿素含量、MDA含量、SOD活性、CAT活性等指标研究其耐盐性,并进一步探讨了小叶蚊母原种(D)及其不同品系(D1、D4、D6、D7、D10、D13)对中度盐胁迫(100mmol·L-1 NaCl)的生理响应,对其耐盐性进行综合评价。结果显示:(1)随着胁迫时间增加,各浓度处理下小叶蚊母的形态指标、生理指标发生显著变化,15d后仅100mmol·L-1盐胁迫浓度以下植株存活。(2)在中度盐胁迫下,小叶蚊母品系D1和D13的叶片受害面积比例显著小于其它品系,同时原种以及各品系间的各项生理指标差异显著,各项生理指标测定结果均表明D1和D13的耐盐性相对较好。(3)采用隶属函数法对原种及不同品系的耐盐性综合评价结果显示,各材料耐盐性由高到低依次为D1D13DD7D10D4D6。研究表明,小叶蚊母不适宜种植在土壤盐度100mmol·L-1以上的区域,在中度以下盐渍化地区绿化应用中建议优先选用品系D1和D13。     

Ralstonia solanacearum Dps Contributes to Oxidative Stress Tolerance and to Colonization of and Virulence on Tomato Plants

Ralstonia solanacearum, an economically important soilborne plant pathogen, infects host roots to cause bacterial wilt disease. However, little is known about this pathogen''s behavior in the rhizosphere and early in pathogenesis. In response to root exudates from tomato, R. solanacearum strain UW551 upregulated a gene resembling Dps, a nonspecific DNA binding protein from starved cells that is critical for stress survival in other bacteria. An R. solanacearum dps mutant had increased hydrogen peroxide sensitivity and mutation rate under starvation. Furthermore, dps expression was positively regulated by the oxidative stress response regulator OxyR. These functional results are consistent with a Dps annotation. The dps mutant caused slightly delayed bacterial wilt disease in tomato after a naturalistic soil soak inoculation. However, the dps mutant had a more pronounced reduction in virulence when bacteria were inoculated directly into host stems, suggesting that Dps helps R. solanacearum adapt to conditions inside plants. Passage through a tomato plant conferred transient increased hydrogen peroxide tolerance on both wild-type and dps mutant strains, demonstrating that R. solanacearum acquires Dps-independent oxidative stress tolerance during adaptation to the host environment. The dps mutant strain was also reduced in adhesion to tomato roots and tomato stem colonization. These results indicate that Dps is important when cells are starved or in stationary phase and that Dps contributes quantitatively to host plant colonization and bacterial wilt virulence. They further suggest that R. solanacearum must overcome oxidative stress during the bacterial wilt disease cycle.Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a lethal disease affecting diverse economically important crops worldwide (20). The pathogen attacks over 200 species in more than 50 plant families (21). Although known primarily as a soilborne plant pathogen, R. solanacearum also survives in soil, water, and latently infected plants (20). The bacterium typically invades its host through natural or mechanical root wounds, multiplies in the root cortex, and then rapidly colonizes the xylem, where it reaches high cell densities. Once wilt symptoms develop, plants usually die, releasing the pathogen back into the soil (42).R. solanacearum is a tropical bacterium adapted to warmer climates, with the exception of a clonal group belonging to phylotype II, sequevar 1, of the R. solanacearum species complex (13). This group, historically and for regulatory purposes known as race 3 biovar 2 (R3bv2), causes brown rot of potato and bacterial wilt of tomato in tropical highlands and some temperate zones (11, 41, 45, 46). Because of its virulence at relatively cool temperatures, R3bv2 is a quarantine pest in Europe and Canada and a select agent pathogen in the United States (27).R. solanacearum virulence is quantitative and complex, with many contributing factors such as type II-secreted proteins, type III-secreted effectors, extracellular polysaccharide, and several plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (16, 17, 36, 38). Much of what is known about R. solanacearum comes from studies focusing on mid- or end-stage disease caused by tropical or warm-temperate strains (8, 30). A few virulence factors are known to function early in disease development: motility, energy taxis, and type IV pili, which collectively direct the bacterium toward and facilitate attachment to the host root (26, 44, 49, 50). However, R. solanacearum traits that contribute to fitness and virulence in the rhizosphere are not well understood for either tropical or R3bv2 strains.In soil, bacteria experience environmental stressors, such as pH and temperature extremes and water and oxygen limitation, as well as competition for nutrients (47). Plant roots release exudates and sloughed-off cells, supplying sufficient energy to sustain large microbial communities, provided other nutrients such as N, P, and Fe are present (19, 47). While rhizosphere bacteria can enjoy rapid growth in this relatively rich environment, fluctuating nutrient availability means that soil-dwelling microbes must survive periods of starvation (47).R. solanacearum also encounters oxidative stress in the rhizosphere. Plant roots produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to many stimuli (25, 32). Several studies implicate ROS in root development and in interactions between roots and microbes (5, 24). We previously found that during plant colonization R. solanacearum is exposed to host-derived ROS, which triggers a bacterial oxidative stress response that adapts the pathogen to the xylem environment and is necessary for full virulence (8, 14).We previously described an in vivo expression technology (IVET)-like screen that identified R. solanacearum genes upregulated in the tomato rhizosphere (12). These genes encoded several known bacterial wilt virulence factors, such as the type 3 secretion regulator HrpG, the type IV pilus assembly protein PilP, global virulence regulator VsrA, and early virulence regulator PehR. The screen further identified a high-affinity cytochrome c oxidase necessary for R. solanacearum growth in microaerobic conditions (12). This paper presents our analysis of another rhizosphere-induced gene that encodes Dps, a DNA binding protein from starved cells originally described in Escherichia coli (2). Dps belongs to a family of ferritin-like stress-induced proteins that bind nonspecifically to DNA in stationary-phase bacteria (2, 29, 40). In E. coli, Dps helps maintain DNA integrity under environmentally challenging conditions, including starvation, oxidative damage, pH shock, and thermal stress (2, 10, 18, 29, 33). Dps also protects the soilborne plant-associated bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Pseudomonas putida from oxidative stress (9, 37).Traits that adapt R. solanacearum to detrimental conditions in the rhizosphere are likely to be important for pathogenic success. We hypothesized that Dps is required for adaptation to nutrient and oxidative stress and, thus, for bacterial wilt disease development. We found that Dps was highly expressed after starvation and contributed to oxidative stress tolerance in starved R. solanacearum cells. Furthermore, this protein was necessary for wild-type bacterial wilt disease development and for colonization of tomato xylem, suggesting that the bacterium must overcome a nutrient-poor and/or oxidative environment in the rhizosphere and xylem of host plants.     

Water Stress Induced Changes in Anatomy of Tomato Leaf Epidermes

Anatomical changes of leaf epidermes of tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. INCA 9) submitted to water stress in the preflowering stage were studied. 20 d after germination, plants were subjected to three treatments: 1) 100 % of evapotranspired water was applied every day, 2) from 100 up to 10 % of evapotranspired water was applied every day, and 3) water supply was completely suppressed. Trichome density was similar in apical, middle and basal zones, and adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. Stomatal density and length, and epidermal cell length and width had similar values on the same leaf surface, but the values were higher on the abaxial than on the adaxial leaf surface. The water deficit had little effect on number of trichomes, length and width of epidermal cells and length of stomata, and decreased the stomatal density especially on adaxial surface.     

过表达番茄GDP-L-半乳糖磷酸酶基因提高烟草抗MV诱导的氧化胁迫能力

为了探讨番茄GDP—L-半乳糖磷酸酶对烟草抗坏血酸（AsA）含量及抗氧化能力的影响,从番茄叶片中分离了GDP-L-半乳糖磷酸酶基因（LeGGP）,并转入到烟草中。以野生型（WT）和转正义LeGGP烟草株系T1-3和T1-15为试材,测定了甲基紫精（MV）处理下AsA、脱氢抗坏血酸（DHA）、H2O2、O2-和叶绿素含量、抗坏血酸过氧化物酶（APX）活性、光合速率和叶绿素荧光参数等。Northem杂交分析表明LeGGP的表达受MV的诱导,在MV处理下,野生型烟草的离体叶圆片发生比转基因烟草更严重的光漂白,转基因烟草的AsA含量及清除H2O2和O2-的能力明显强于野生型,过表达LePGG胀高了烟草的生长量。并且转基因烟草比野生型具有更高的净光合效率（Pn）和光系统Ⅱ（PSII）最大光化学效率（眠）。结果表明,LeGGP的过表达有助于提高烟草AsA含量及抗氧化胁迫能力。     

Foliar Spraying with Zineb Increases Fruit Productivity and Alleviates Oxidative Stress in Two Tomato Cultivars

The effects of foliar spraying of the dithiocarbamate zineb on two cultivars of tomato grown in the field in a site with high ozone concentrations were studied by means of biomass assessment, antioxidant enzyme assays, lipid peroxidation, and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. Zineb prevented the peroxidation of membrane lipids and decreased the activity of scavenging enzymes, which suggests that plants sprayed with zineb are subjected to lower oxidative stress than controls. The beneficial effects of zineb protection is the utilization of a larger fraction of absorbed radiant energy in photosynthesis and a larger fruit yield in plants of both cultivars.     

Inoculation with Rhizobacteria Enhanced Tolerance of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Plants in Response to Cadmium Stress

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - In this study, cadmium (Cd)-tolerant bacteria Serratia sp. D23 (D23) and Sphingomonas sp. D36 (D36) were isolated from Cd-contaminated rhizospheric soil. Both...     

Tolerance to Hololaimus columbus in Glyphosate-Resistant,Transgenic Soybean Cultivars

Transgenic soybean cultivars, resistant to glyphosate herbicide in maturity groups V and VI, were evaluated for tolerance to the Columbia lance nematode, Hoplolaimus columbus, in field experiments conducted in 1998 and 1999. Treatment with 43 liter/ha of 1,3-dichloropropene was effective in suppressing H. columbus population densities in a split-plot design. Fumigation increased soybean yield, but a significant cultivar × fumigation interaction indicated variation in cultivar response to H. columbus. A tolerance index (yield of nontreated ÷ yield of treated × 100) was used to compare cultivar differences. Two cultivars in maturity group VI and one cultivar in maturity group V had a tolerance index greater than 90, indicating a high level of tolerance.     

Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Low-Light Tolerance in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) Cultivars and Their Ultrastructural Observations

This research used multivariate statistical analysis to evaluate the tolerance of 11 tomato cultivars to low light at the seedling stage. The low-light condition (200–420 μmol/m² s) was simulated by a shade net. It was found that 11 of 16 character indices of different cultivars, such as dropping angle, bend degree, and accumulation of leaf area, showed a significant difference by using multiple variance analysis. After factor analysis, the 11 character indices could be summarized into 5 main factors with a cumulative contribution rate of 84.968 %. According to the factor scores after varimax rotation, the 11 tomato cultivars could be classified into three categories by using cluster analysis. The severely low-light-sensitive cultivars were T1, T5, T6, T10, and T11 and the moderately low-light-sensitive cultivars were T4, T7, and T9. Cultivars T2, T3, and T8 were resistant to low light. In accordance with the appraisal result, the light-sensitive cultivars T5 and T10, the moderately low-light-sensitive cultivar T4, and the low-light-tolerant cultivar T8 were randomly selected to observe the variation in the ultrastructure of leaves of different tomato cultivars with the aid of a transmission electron microscope (TEM). In chloroplasts of T5 and T10, membranes were heavily damaged and mitochondria were vacuolated, whereas the chloroplast structure of T4 was slightly damaged and its mitochondria grew normally. In the chloroplasts of T8, the organelle membranes were intact, the degree of thylakoid stacking was high, and mitochondria grew normally. Our results showed that multivariate statistical analysis of low-light tolerance in tomatoes has certain scientific applicability.