Effect of phytohormones synthesized by rhizosphere bacteria on plants

New strains of rhizosphere microorganisms Azotobacter chroococcum Az d10, Bacillus megaterium Pl-04, and Bacillus mucilaginosus B-1574 were found to be able to synthesize cytokinins (CKs) and indolylacetic acid (IAA). Three forms of CKs—dihydrozeatin riboside, isopentenyl adenosine, and trans-zeatin riboside—were identified, whose ratio was different in the three bacterial cultures. Inoculation of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plants increased the content of CKs and IAA in them by 35.6 and 21.3%, respectively, and also stimulated seed germination and increased the growth rate, the biomass of shoots, the number of lateral roots, and the root hair area, which ensured better plant nutrition. The IAA/CKs ratio shifted during bacterization towards CKs due to increase in the content of riboside forms, which apparently caused growth stimulation.     

Pigments and Gas Exchange Characteristics in Leaves of Chlorophyll Mutants of Pisum sativum

Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of pigment composition and gas exchange were studied in chlorophyll mutants of pea, Pisum sativum L.: chlorotica 2004 and 2014. The mutant 2004 had light-green color, whereas the mutant 2014 has yellow-green leaves and stems; they contained about 80 and 50% of chlorophyll, respectively, compared to the initial line. cv. Torsdag. Leaves of the mutant 2004 had significantly lower carotene content and accumulated more lutein and violaxanthin. In the mutant 2014, the contents of chlorophyll and all carotenoids were reduced almost proportionally. The quantum efficiency of photosynthesis was by 29–30% lower in the mutants, and it was 1.5–2 times higher in F₁ hybrids, as compared to control plants. Our data allow us to conclude that the impairment of photosynthesis in the mutant 2014 is caused by the changed mesostructure of leaves, whereas in the mutant 2004, it may be caused by an impairment of photosystem reaction centers.     

Spectral properties and the number of photosynthetic reaction centers in chlorophyll-deficient mutants of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pisum sativum</Emphasis>

Spectral and photochemical properties were analyzed on intact chloroplasts and pigment-protein complexes isolated with gel electrophoresis from pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaves of parental variety Torsdag and of chlorophyll-deficient mutants chlorotica 2004 and 2014. Measurements of chlorophyll absorption and fluorescence spectra and of second derivative low-temperature (–196°C) spectra clarified exact positions of fluorescence maxima and revealed the chlorophyll forms of individual complexes in samples investigated. The chlorotica 2004 mutant, whose hybrids yield the heterosis effect, was characterized by the decreased accumulation of chlorophyll forms absorbing at 690, 697, and 708 nm, known to constitute the core antenna in the vicinity of photosystem I (PSI) reaction center. In the chlorotica 2014 mutant, whose hybrids are low productive, the interaction between PSI and PSII complexes was weakened, but no other difference from the parental variety was observed. The analysis of PSI and PSII photochemical activities, as well as estimates of light-harvesting antenna size and the number of reaction centers revealed that the chlorotica 2004 mutant is deficient in the number of PSI reaction centers by a factor of 1.7. This deficiency resulted from the mutation-induced disorder in biosynthesis of chlorophyll a-protein complex of PSI. It appears that gene interactions between the 2004 mutant and the parental variety Torsdag enhance the functional and metabolic activity of leaves in their hybrids, thereby yielding the heterosis effect.Translated from Fiziologiya Rastenii, Vol. 52, No. 2, 2005, pp. 172–183.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Ladygin, Vaishlya.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Characterization of Photosynthetic Apparatus of Pea Chlorophyll Mutants and their Heterotic F1 Hybrids with Standard Genotype (cv. Torsdag)

In comparison to cv. Torsdag, in leaves of low-productive Pisum sativum L. chlorophyll mutants the decrease in chlorophyll content was caused by the decrease in cell number per unit volume. Qualitative changes in activities of photosystem (PS) 1 in mutant M2004, and quantitative changes of PS1 and PS2 in mutants M2004 and M2014 and in hybrids were also found. However, the activity of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPC) in M2014, and those of RuBPC and glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase in M2004 and hybrids were higher than in cv. Torsdag. The hybrids inherited the normal structure of photosynthetic apparatus of standard genotype in parallel with the compensatory gene complex of M2004, which was expressed at many levels of organization. This may be the basis of hybrid vigour in this case.     

Effect of Growing Conditions on Wheat Hormonal Status and Productivity in Experimental Ecological System

The levels of free and bound forms of IAA, ABA, cytokinins (CK), and gibberellins, as well as growth characteristics and productivity were investigated in two wheat lines. The plants were grown under controlled conditions in an artificial ecosystem that allowed the irradiance, CO₂ concentration, and rhizosphere temperature to be changed. The main difference in the hormonal status of leaves of tall spring wheat, line 232, and dwarf wheat, line 95-3, was the absence of GA₉ gibberellins in the latter. It was found that the light intensity and temperature of rhizosphere insignificantly affected the balance of endogenous phytohormones and HI in wheat. The elevation of CO₂ concentration resulted in a considerable increase in the content of free IAA, an appearance of free GA₉, and a rise in the productivity of wheat, line 232. The concentration of CO₂ was shown to be a major parameter that determined HI in the experimental ecological system.