Influence of a Brassinosteroid Analogue on Antioxidant Enzymes in Rice Grown in Culture Medium with NaCl

We studied the effects of a polyhydroxylated spirostanic brassinosteroid analogue (BB-16) on the activities of antioxidant enzymes in rice seedlings grown in vitro in culture medium supplemented with NaCl. Seedlings were grown in medium with 75 mM NaCl and 0.001 or 0.01 mg dm⁻³ BB-16 for 16 d or 3-d-old seedlings were exposed for 4 d to 0, 0.001 or 0.01 mg dm⁻³ BB-16 then further grown in medium with 75 mM NaCl without BB-16. Seedlings exposed to 0.01 mg dm⁻³ BB-16 for 16 d showed significant increase in the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GR) and a slight increase in ascorbate peroxidase (APX). On the other hand, 4-d exposure to BB-16 only increased SOD and CAT activities at concentration 0.001 mg dm⁻³. GR activity was not altered by this BB-16 treatment. These results indicated that BB-16, which is structurally modified in the lateral chain in relation to natural brassinosteroids, changes the activity of key antioxidant enzymes, which might confer tolerance to saline stress. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.