Effects of various iron supply on oxidative stress development and ferritin formation in the common ice plants

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. plants were grown from seeds in perlite. At the age of 4 weeks (juvenile plants) or 6 weeks (adult plants), they were transferred on nutrient media with different Fe³⁺ content brought in as Fe₂(SO₄)₃—EDTA complex (pH 6.0): control, iron deficit, and iron “excess”. Adult plants grown in media differing in iron content were subjected to salinity (300 mM NaCl) during the last 8 days of growth. Biochemical analyses were performed after plant fixation in liquid nitrogen; simultaneously, the samples for electron microscopy were taken. Different content of available Fe³⁺ in medium, especially under salinity conditions, changed sharply the content of chlorophyll and proline, the rate of lipid peroxidation, the level of H₂O₂, the activities of antioxidant enzymes in the leaves and roots, the number and sizes of plastoglobules, and ferritin formation in plastids. Joint action of salinity and iron deficit enhanced oxidative stress development, whereas iron excess hampered oxidative reaction development, reduced the rate of lipid peroxidation, and increased the chlorophyll content. At iron excess, plastoglobule lysis in plastids did not occur, their number and sizes increased, and ferritin deposits appeared, whereas the latter were absent at iron deficit.     

Effect of samh seeds supplementation (Mesembryanthemum forsskalei Hochst) on liver enzymes and lipid profiles of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic Wistar rats

Thirty streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic of Wistar Albino rats were divided into five groups. The rat groups received different food (natural diet or high fat content diet) supplemented with 10% or 15% of samh seeds for 6 weeks. At the end of the study, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phophatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzymes have been measured in diabetic rats liver. In addition, liver lipid profile (total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TAG), lipid peroxide production malondialdehyde (MDA)) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in have been measured in diabetic rats liver, and the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were also determined. The samh seeds diet supplemented with cholesterol significantly increase (P < 0.05) the levels of liver peroxide production MDA, TC and TG in diabetic rats comparing to the samh diet not supplemented with the cholesterol. However, the samh seeds significantly decrease (P < 0.05) the level of GSH. These data suggest that the samh seeds diet not supplemented with the cholesterol regulated C and TG metabolism and decrease the lipid peroxidation in the diabetic rats.     

Gene expression during CAM induction under salt stress in Mesembryanthemum: cDNA library and increased levels of mRNA for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and pyruvate orthosphosphate dikinase

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum responds to high salinity in the soil by shifting the mode of carbon assimilation from the C3 mode to Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). Several enzymes of carbon metabolism have increased apparent activities in the CAM mode, including phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPcase) and pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK). We have identified cDNA clones for PEPcase and PPDK by immunological screening of a cDNA library constructed in the protein expression vector lambda gt11. The clones were characterized by immunoblotting and RNA blotting techniques. RNA blotting showed that during CAM induction the steady-state level of mRNAs for both PEP case and PPDK increased.Abbreviations IPTG isopropyl thiogalactoside - PEP phosphoenolpyruvate - PEPcase phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase - PPDK pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase - Xgal-5 bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside     

水分胁迫对露花磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸羧化酶表达水平及特性的影响

水分胁迫能引起露花叶片PEP羧化酶的活力、酶蛋白和mRNA水平的提高。复水后,叶片PEP羧化酶表达量降低;茎中的PEP羧化酶在水分胁迫和恢复水分供应过程中变化情况与叶片相似,兼性CAM植物的碳代谢类型转变发生在植物的绿色组织中。露花叶片中除了250kD的PEP羧化酶同功酶外,还有300kD同功酶;主茎的叶片叶位越低,PEP羧化酶活力越高。     

Karyotype of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (Aizoaceae) studied by chromosome banding,FISH with rDNA probes and immunofluorescence detection of DNA methylation

The karyotype of the common ice plant Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. (Aizoaceae) was studied using Chromomycin A₃ (CMA)/4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, fluorescence in situ hybridization with 5S and 18S–5.8S–25S rDNA probes, DAPI/C-banding and immunodetection of 5-methylcytosine. A single bright CMA-band was revealed on the satellite chromosome, whose location was coincided with a position of a site of 18S–5.8S–25S rRNA genes. A site of 5S rRNA genes was observed on one of the other chromosomes. Relatively large DAPI/C-bands were mainly localized in the pericentromeric regions of the chromosomes. DAPI/C-banding patterns allowed us to identify all the chromosomes in the karyotype of M. crystallinum. The methylation of euchromatic chromosome regions was weaker as compared with heterochromatic DAPI/C-bands, which were hypermethylated. The obtained results may provide opportunities for investigating, at the chromosomal level, the genomic changes occurring in M. crystallinum either under salinization or under the action of other stress factors.     

Lipid Profiles of Leaf Tonoplasts from Plants with Different CO2-Fixation Mechanisms*

Tonoplast preparations were obtained from leaves of Hordeum vulgare (C₃), Kalanchoë daigremontiana (obligate CAM) and Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (C₃ and inducible CAM). Lipid analyses showed reproducible patterns comprising free sterols, glycolipids of plastidic origin, glucose-containing lipids (steryl glucoside, acylated steryl glucoside, cerebroside) and phospholipids. Predominant components were sterols, cerebrosides, phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine. Very long chain fatty acids were found in phosphatidyl serine and hydroxy fatty acids in cerebrosides. Isolation of tonoplasts via protoplasts and vacuoles may have resulted in reduced levels of free sterols. The data show a similarity between tonoplasts and plasma membranes with respect to lipid profiles. Lipid composition was neither affected by different CO₂-fixation mechanisms nor by salt-induced changes in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum.     

露花叶片PEP羧化酶的纯化及某些分子特性

经硫酸铵分部沉淀,DEAE-纤维素(DE52),DEAE-Sephadex A-50,SephacrylS-200和二次羟基磷灰石等柱层析,从露花叶片中分离得到纯化63.9倍、电泳均一的磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸羧化酶。此酶的天然分子量经聚丙烯酰胺梯度凝胶电泳测定为260kD,经SephadexG-200凝胶过滤法测定为240kD。用SDS-聚丙烯酰胺梯度凝胶电泳测得酶的亚基分子量为115kD,表明此酶是个二同聚体。此酶的等电点为PI=5.6。免疫双扩散的结果表明此酶与高梁PEPG的抗原决定簇呈部分同一性。     

冰菜盐胁迫下的转录组分析

为了解冰菜(Mesembryanthemum crystallinum)叶片抗盐相关基因组学,利用Illumina Hi-seq TM2500高通量测序技术研究冰菜叶片在400 mmol L~(–1) NaCl胁迫下转录组基因的差异表达。结果表明,从400 mmol L~(–1) NaCl胁迫和对照的冰菜叶片中共获得13.01 Gb Clean data,Q30碱基均大于90.08%。共获得123个差异表达基因(DEGs),包括73个上调基因,50个下调基因,其中功能注释的基因有96个。根据Unigene库序列进行GO、COG和KEGG注释,筛选出8个与抗盐性相关差异表达基因,植物激素代谢相关基因,脱落酸8'-羟基化酶、吲哚-3-乙酰酸酰胺合成酶和茉莉酮酸酯ZIM结构域蛋白基因均下调表达,生长素响应蛋白、细胞分裂素合酶基因则上调表达,糖代谢相关基因棉子糖合成酶基因上调表达,质膜H+-ATPase基因上调表达,脱水蛋白基因下调表达。这为冰菜耐盐基因组学和分子生物学的研究奠定基础。     

Can Stress-Induced CAM Provide for Performing the Developmental Program in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum Plants under Long-Term Salinity?

The development of CAM-type photosynthesis is one of the adaptation mechanisms to severe water deficit. It provides plants with carbon dioxide and permits efficient water spending under extreme environments. In common ice plants, a complete switch from C₃ to CAM photosynthesis was observed on the seventh day of salinity (0.5 M NaCl). The indices characterizing this switch were: (1) induction of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase; (2) diurnal changes in the organic acid content, which are characteristic of CAM plants, and (3) suppression of transpiration during the daytime. A decrease in the osmotic potential () of the leaf sap, which occurred on the second day of salinity, preceded these changes. After long-term salinity stress (four–five weeks), attained extremely low values (–4.67 MPa), which made possible the water uptake by the root system. The restoration of the balance between cell compartments resulted from the accumulation of compatible solutes in the cytoplasm, proline primarily, which possesses osmoregulatory and stress-protective properties. This means that a complex of adaptive mechanisms is required for the realization of the common ice developmental program under salinity. These mechanisms maintained plant capacity to uptake water and permitted its efficient utilization. They triggered the development of stress-induced CAM-type photosynthesis, maintained the low osmotic potential in the cell sap, regulated the composition of macromolecules in the cell microenvironment, provided for water storage in tissues, and reduced the time of plant development. A comparison between the time-courses of CAM development and a decrease in the transpiration rate permitted us to suggest that a combination of low and CO₂ in the leaf cells could serve as a signal for the induction of CAM-dependent gene expression in terrestrial plants.