Biologia plantarum, 2014 (vol. 58), issue 1

Original Papers

Isolation and expression analysis of transcripts encoding metallothioneins in oil palm

A. B. Al-Shanfari, S. N. A. Abdullah

Biologia plantarum 58:18-28, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0380-7

Two of the abundant transcripts encoding type 2 metallothionein (MT) proteins designated as MET2a and MET2b were selected in our previous study due to their high abundance (16.05 %) in the suppression subtractive hybridization library and their involvement in fruit development and maturation. The present study involves the isolation of the full-length cDNA encoding MET2a and MET2b from the ripening oil palm fruit mesocarp, examining their expression pattern compared to the other two previously reported type-3 MT members (MT3-A and MT3-B) in various oil palm organs including different vegetative and reproductive tissues....

Comparison of plantain plantlets propagated in temporary immersion bioreactors and gelled medium during in vitro growth and acclimatization

C. E. Aragón, C. Sánchez, J. Gonzalez-Olmedo, M. Escalona, L. Carvalho, S. Amâncio

Biologia plantarum 58:29-38, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0381-6

The current work compared the physiological characteristics of plantain (Musa AAB) plantlets micropropagated in temporary immersion bioreactors (TIB) and on a gelled medium (GM). The plantlets were evaluated during in vitro growth (in the shoot elongation phase) and at the end of ex vitro acclimatization. TIB improved rooting and gave rise to longer shoots and higher dry mass. Respiration rate was the highest at the beginning of shoot elongation in both the TIB and GM plantlets. Photosynthetic rate in TIB was significantly higher than in GM from the midpoint of acclimatization, whereas a pyruvate kinase (PK) activity was lower....

Antigibberellin-induced reduction of internode length favors in vitro flowering and seed-set in different pea genotypes

F. M. Ribalta, J. S. Croser, W. Erskine, P. M. Finnegan, M. M. Lulsdorf, S. J. Ochatt

Biologia plantarum 58:39-46, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0379-0

In vitro flowering protocols were developed for a limited number of early flowering pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivars. This work was undertaken to understand the mechanisms regulating in vitro flowering and seed-set across a range of pea genotypes. Its final goal is to accelerate the generation cycle for faster breeding novel genotypes. We studied the effects of in vivo and in vitro applications of the antigibberellin Flurprimidol together with radiation of different spectral compositions on intact plants, plants with the meristem removed, or excised shoot tip explants. Based on our results, we present a simple...

The oxidative stress and antioxidant systems in cucumber cells during acclimation to salinity

M. R. Naliwajski, M. Skłodowska

Biologia plantarum 58:47-54, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0378-1

In the present study, we measured the markers of oxidative stress as well as activity of antioxidative enzymes and content of α-tocopherol in the acclimated and non-acclimated cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cell suspension cultures subjected to 150 and 200 mM NaCl. The content of carbonyl groups and lipid peroxidation were lower in the acclimated cultures than in the non-acclimated ones as well as their increases after NaCl treatments. Both NaCl concentrations enhanced activity of glutathione peroxidase in the examined cultures whereas activity of glutathione-S-transferase rose only in the acclimated ones. The increase in content of α-tocopherol...

Transcriptome profiling the basal region of poplar stems during the early gravitropic response

W. Azri, A. Ennajah, Z. Nasr, S. -Y. Woo, A. Khaldi

Biologia plantarum 58:55-63, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0364-7

Stems of angiosperm trees are affected by gravity. Young poplar stems show primary growth in the top internodes and differential cambium activity in the basal internodes after inclination with some tension wood formed after 45 min. This study was conducted in order to characterize the early changes in poplar gene expression during the early stages of the gravitropic response. Using microarray technology, the expression of 15 000 genes was examined. Approximately 3.1 % of these genes exhibited significant expression changes within the first 45 min of gravity stimulation. Approximately 73 % of the identified genes were found to have a known or predicted...

Identification of new TRAP markers linked to chlorophyll content, leaf senescence, and cell membrane stability in water-stressed wheat

M. S. Saleh, A. A. Al-Doss, A. A. Elshafei, K. A. Moustafa, F. H. Al-Qurainy, M. N. Barakat

Biologia plantarum 58:64-70, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0351-z

In order to identify target region amplification polymorphism (TRAP) markers linked to three physiological traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), the segregating F₄ population from the cross between drought-sensitive (Yecora Rojo) and drought-tolerant (Pavon 76) genotypes was made. The parents and 150 F₄ families were evaluated phenotypically for drought tolerance using two irrigation treatments [2.5 and 7.5 m³(H₂O) m^-2(soil)]. Using 40 different TRAP primer combinations tested for polymorphism in parental and F4 family genotypes, the results revealed that quantitative trait locus (QTL)...

Dynamics of heat-shock induced DNA damage and repair in senescent tobacco plants

P. Cvjetko, B. Balen, P. Peharec Štefanić, L. Debogović, M. Pavlica, G. I. V. Klobučar

Biologia plantarum 58:71-79, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0362-9

Oxidative stress plays an important role in plant ageing and in response to different stresses. Oxidative DNA damage, unless repaired, may have detrimental consequences and increase genetic instability. Therefore, we determined the role of heat-shock induced oxidative stress on induction and repair of DNA damage in relation to oxidative stress tolerance in senescent tobacco plants. One-month-old (young) and three-month-old (senescent) plants were exposed to 42 °C for 2 and 4 h and left to recover at 26 °C for 24 and 72 h. The progression of senescence was characterized by the lower soluble protein and malondialdehyde content compared to young plants....

Differential growth responses to sodium salts involve different abscisic acid metabolism and transport in Prosopis strombulifera

A. Llanes, O. Masciarelli, R. Ordóñez, M. I. Isla, V. Luna

Biologia plantarum 58:80-88, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0365-6

In this work, the response of the halophytic shrub Prosopis strombulifera to lowering an osmotic potential (Ψ_o) to -1.0, -1.9, and -2.6 MPa generated by NaCl, Na₂SO₄, and the iso-osmotic combination of them was studied at 6, 12, and 24 h after reaching such values in the growing media. By analyzing the content of abscisic acid (ABA) and related metabolites and transpiration rates, we observed that ABA content varied depending on type of salt, salt concentration, organ analyzed, and age of a plant. ABA content in leaves was much higher than in roots, presumably because of rapid biosynthesis and transport from...

Cloning of 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase gene (TaNCED1) from wheat and its heterologous expression in tobacco

S. J. Zhang, G. Q. Song, Y. L. Li, J. Gao, J. J. Liu, Q. Q. Fan, C. Y. Huang, X. X. Sui, X. S. Chu, D. Guo, G. Y. Li

Biologia plantarum 58:89-98, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0373-6

Abscisic acid (ABA) regulates plant responses to various environmental stresses. Oxidative cleavage of cis-epoxycarotenoids catalyzed by 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) is the critical step in the biosynthesis of ABA in higher plants. Using a homologous cloning approach, a NCED-like gene (designated as TaNCED1) was isolated from wheat (Triticum aestivum). It contained an open reading frame of 1 848 bp and encodes a peptide of 615 amino acids. Multiple sequence alignments showed that TaNCED1 shared high identity with NCEDs from other plants. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that TaNCED1...

Effect of water stress on yield and nutrition quality of tomato plant overexpressing StAPX

W.-H. Sun, X.-Y. Liu, Y. Wang, Q. Hua, X.-M. Song, Z. Gu, D.-Z. Pu

Biologia plantarum 58:99-104, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0360-y

We investigated the effect of water stress on yield and quality of tomato plants overexpressing Solanum lycopersicum thylakoid-bound ascorbate peroxidase gene (StAPX). APX activity, hydrogen peroxide content, net photosynthetic rate of tomato leaves, and yield and nutrition quality of tomato fruits were measured under soil moisture 70, 60, and 50 % of full field capacity. Results show that the capability of APX for scavenging hydrogen peroxide induced by water stress was higher in the transgenic than the wild type (WT) plants. The yield of fruits of the transgenic tomato plants was higher than that of WT plants under water stress and...

Cloning and characterization of gene encoding a Mn-containing superoxide dismutase in Eutrema halophilum

X. J. Xu, Y. J. Zhou, D. T. Ren, H. H. Bu, J. C. Feng, G. Y. Wang

Biologia plantarum 58:105-113, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0363-8

A gene encoding Mn-containing superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), designated as ThMSD, was cloned from salt cress (Eutrema halophilum) by reverse transcriptase - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The full length of ThMSD (acc. No. EF413171) is 1 047 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) of 693 bp. The deduced 231-amino acid polypeptide had a predicted molecular mass of 25.5 kDa, an estimated pI of 9.08, and a putative Mn-binding site. Recombinant ThMSD protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and characterized. The SOD activity of ThMSD was inactivated by sodium azide but not by potassium...

Growth characteristics and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity in peach grafted on different Prunus spp.

I. Dos Santos Pereira, R. Da Silva Messias, Â. Diniz Campos, P. Errea, L. E. Corrêa Antunes, J. C. Fachinello, A. Pina

Biologia plantarum 58:114-120, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0370-9

Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) is a key enzyme in the phenylpropanoid pathway responsible for biosynthesis of many secondary metabolites, such as anthocyanins, flavanols, and lignins. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of different rootstock/scion combinations on Prunus tree growth, PAL gene expression, and PAL activity in order to identify compatibility of different graft combinations. The study was performed with peach (P. persica cv. Chimarrita) grafted on two peach rootstocks (Capdeboscq and Tsukuba1) and one Japanese apricot (P. mume cv. Umezeiro). Two or three years after grafting, the growth...

Overexpression of R2R3-MYB gene leads to accumulation of anthocyanin and enhanced resistance to chilling and oxidative stress

X. Meng, B. Yin, H. -L. Feng, S. Zhang, X. -Q. Liang, Q. -W. Meng

Biologia plantarum 58:121-130, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0376-3

LeAN2 encoding an anthocyanin-associated R2R3-MYB transcription factor was isolated from tomato. The expression of LeAN2 in tomato was induced by low temperature and oxidative stress. Green fluorescent protein was fused to LeAN2 and the complex was expressed transiently in onion epidermal cells. Green fluorescence was observed only in the nucleus. Overexpression of LeAN2 under the control of the CaMV35S promoter in tobacco induced expression of several anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and the content of anthocyanin was markedly higher in transgenic tobacco compared with wild type plants. Transgenic tobaccos conferred tolerance...

Physiological and ultra-structural changes in Brassica napus seedlings induced by cadmium stress

B. Ali, P. Qian, R. Jin, S. Ali, M. Khan, R. Aziz, T. Tian, W. Zhou

Biologia plantarum 58:131-138, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0358-5

The effects of cadmium on physiological and ultrastructural characteristics were evaluated in 6-d-old seedlings of two Brassica napus L. cultivars Zheda 619 and ZS 758. Results show that Cd at lower concentration (100 μM) stimulated the seedling growth but at higher concentration (500 μM) inhibited the growth of both cultivars, decreased content of photosynthetic pigments, activities of antioxidant enzymes, and increased the content of malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species. Cd content in different parts of seedlings was higher in ZS 758 than in Zheda 619. Electron micrographs illustrated that 500 μM Cd severely damaged the leaf...

Seasonal dimorphism and winter chilling stress in Thymus sibthorpii

V. Lianopoulou, A. Patakas, A. M. Bosabalidis

Biologia plantarum 58:139-146, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0371-8

Seasonal dimorphism (summer/winter) has been so far studied only in a few plants and has been focused on summer drought stress. However, Thymus sibthorpii in the study area appears to be affected by winter chilling stress and not by summer drought stress. Thus, the winter leaves were thicker and more compact compared to the summer leaves and they had more stomata and peltate hairs, more sclerenchymatous fibers, vacuoles with phenolics, and chloroplasts than the summer leaves. In addition, their chloroplasts possessed large grana and starch grains. In the summer leaves, cell vacuoles in mesophyll did not contain phenolics, and chloroplasts were...

Involvement of phospholipase A2 in the release of silymarin to the culture medium of Silybum marianum cell suspensions

P. Corchete, J. Fernandez-Tarrago

Biologia plantarum 58:147-152, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0368-3

In suspension cell cultures of Silybum marianum, methyl jasmonate (MJ) stimulated the accumulation and release of silymarin (Sm) to the culture medium. This study shows that phospholipase A2 (PLA2) plays a role in the release of Sm in elicited cultures. PLA2 activity increased in cell suspensions treated with MJ. Addition of aristolochic acid (AA) or bromoenol lactone (BEL) compounds that inhibit PLA2 activity impeded silymarin release. The addition of linoleic or linolenic acid reversed the inhibitory action of AA. Fatty acids (FAs) stimulated Sm release when added alone to control cultures. By contrast, oleic acid and saturated FA were...

Reviews

Plant growth regulators-assisted phytoextraction

P. Bulak, A. Walkiewicz, M. Brzezińska

Biologia plantarum 58:1-8, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0382-5

Plant growth regulators (PRG)-assisted phytoremediation is a technique that could enhance the yield of heavy metal accumulation in plant tissues. So far, a small number of experiments have helped identify three groups of plant hormones that may be useful for this purpose: auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins. Studies have shown that these hormones positively affect the degree of accumulation of metallic impurities and improve the growth and stress resistance of plants. This review summarizes the present knowledge about PGRs' impact on phytoextraction yield.

Brassinosteroids and their role in response of plants to abiotic stresses

Q. Fariduddin, M. Yusuf, I. Ahmad, A. Ahmad

Biologia plantarum 58:9-17, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0374-5

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are polyhydroxylated steroidal plant hormones that play pivotal role in the regulation of various plant growth and development processes. BR biosynthetic or signaling mutants clearly indicate that these plant steroids are essential for regulating a variety of physiological processes including cellular expansion and proliferation, vascular differentiation, male fertility, timing senescence, and leaf development. Moreover, BRs regulate the expression of hundreds of genes, affect the activity of numerous metabolic pathways, and help to control overall developmental programs leading to morphogenesis. On the other hand, the potential...

Brief Communications

Production of triploid plants from endosperm cultures of Phlox drummondii

A. Razdan Tiku, M. K. Razdan, S. N. Raina

Biologia plantarum 58:153-158, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0372-7

Triploid plants of ornamental Phlox drummondii Hook. were raised from cultures of endosperm excised from immature fruits having zygotic embryo at early dicotyledonous stage. Endosperm tissue was firstly cultured with the embryo on the Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium supplemented with 5 μM 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) + 10 μM α-napthaleneacetic acid (NAA) for 7 d and recultured after the embryo was removed. A friable callus appeared two weeks after removal of the embryo and it became compact callus mass in another three weeks. Upon transfer of this 5-week-old callus to the MS medium with 10 μM BAP + 2.5 μM indole-3-acetic acid...

The effects of irradiance on the production of phenolic compounds and condensed tannins in Larix gmelinii needles

J. X. Yan, Y. F. Lu, S. C. Yan

Biologia plantarum 58:159-163, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0367-4

Needles of Larix gmelinii seedlings grown under different irradiances (100, 52, and 26 % of natural sunlight) were collected from June to August 2009. The content of phenolic compounds and condensed tannins in needles were strongly affected by different irradiances. The highest content of phenolic acids occurred under the lowest irradiance. Chlorogenic acid and syringic acid were detected only under the shade. In contrast, the needles under full irradiance showed the highest content of condensed tannins.

Anatomical and histochemical characterization of in vitro haustorium from roots of Castilleja tenuiflora

G. Salcedo-Morales, A. R. Jiménez-Aparicio, F. Cruz-Sosa, G. Trejo-Tapia

Biologia plantarum 58:164-168, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0369-2

In vitro induction of haustoria from Castilleja tenuiflora Benth. was achieved by applying 25 μM catechin, 25 μM vanillin, or 25 μM H₂O₂. Of the treatments tested, 25 μM vanillin was the strongest inducer of haustoria in C. tenuiflora roots in vitro (up to 3 haustoria per root). Haustorium development occurred laterally and was observable 14 d after inducer application. It was characterized by elongation of the epidermal cells and division of the inner cortical cells which also possessed abundant nuclei. Histochemical analysis using 3,3-diaminobenzidine (DAB) and diphenylboric acid 2-aminoethyl...

Effects of exogenous hydrogen sulfide on the redox states of ascorbate and glutathione in maize leaves under salt stress

C. Shan, H. Liu, L. Zhao, X. Wang

Biologia plantarum 58:169-173, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0366-5

This study investigated the effects of exogenous hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) on the redox states of ascorbate (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) in maize leaves under NaCl (100 mM) stress. Salt stress increased the activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), Γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (Γ-ECS), and L-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase (GalLDH), malondialdehyde content and electrolyte leakage, and reduced the ratios of reduced and oxidised forms of AsA (AsA/DHA) and GSH (GSH/GSSG) compared with control. Pretreatment with NaHS (H₂S...

An assessment of Agropyron cristatum tolerance to cadmium contaminated soil

Q. Guo, L. Meng, P. C. Mao, X. X. Tian

Biologia plantarum 58:174-178, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0359-4

A pot experiment was conducted in a greenhouse to assess the tolerance of Agropyron cristatum plants to cadmium contaminated soils (0, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mg kg^-1) for 100 d. Results indicate that Cd in concentrations of 5-50 mg kg^-1 had no significant impact on growth, relative membrane permeability (RMP), lipid peroxidation measured as malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and chlorophyll (Chl) content relative to the control. Exposure of these plants to high concentrations of Cd (100-200 mg kg^-1) caused a small reduction in growth and Chl content and a slight enhancement of RMP and MDA content compared...

Increased cucumber salt tolerance by grafting on pumpkin rootstock and after application of calcium

B. Lei, Y. Huang, J. J. Xie, Z. X. Liu, A. Zhen, M. L. Fan, Z. L. Bie

Biologia plantarum 58:179-184, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0349-6

Self-grafted and pumpkin rootstock-grafted cucumber plants were subjected to the following four treatments: 1) aerated nutrient solution alone (control), 2) nutrient solution with 10 mM Ca(NO₃)₂ (Ca), 3) nutrient solution with 90 mM NaCl (NaCl), and 4) nutrient solution with 90 mM NaCl + 10 mM Ca(NO₃)₂ (NaCl+Ca). The NaCl treatment decreased the plant dry mass and content of Ca²⁺ and K⁺ but increased the Na⁺ content in roots and shoots. Smaller changes were observed in pumpkin rootstock-grafted plants. Supplementary Ca(NO₃)₂...

Protection of photosynthesis and antioxidative system by 24-epibrassinolide in Solanum melongena under cold stress

X. X. Wu, J. He, Z. W. Zhu, S. J. Yang, D. S. Zha

Biologia plantarum 58:185-188, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0377-2

This study was carried out to understand the mechanism of protection of plants under cold stress by exogenous 24-epibrassinolide (EBR). The eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) seedlings were pretreated with five concentrations of EBR (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 °M) and then exposed to day/night temperatures of 10/5 °C for 8 d. The results show that EBR, especially 0.1 °M EBR, dramatically alleviated growth suppression and a decrease in chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate caused by the cold stress. In addition, EBR also decreased malondialdehyde content and O₂ ^.- production rate induced by the cold stress, and increased...

S-methylmethionine alleviates the cold stress by protection of the photosynthetic apparatus and stimulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway

K. Páldi, I. Rácz, Z. Szigeti, S. Rudnóy

Biologia plantarum 58:189-194, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0356-7

Maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings were pretreated with 0.001 g dm^-3 S-methylmethionine (SMM) in the nutrient solution for 24 h and then subjected to chilling (6 °C for 2, 4, 6, 10, and 24 h). Cold stress significantly decreased the maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (variable to maximum chlorophyll fluorescence ratio, F_v/F_m) during the whole experiment but SMM pretreatment significantly reduced this decline. Content of phenolics and anthocyanins increased in response to low temperature, and SMM pretreatment further intensified the synthesis of these protective agents. These findings were supported by increased...

Effects of salicylic acid pre-treatment on cadmium and/or UV-B stress in soybean seedlings

X. M. Li, L. J. Ma, N. Bu, Y. Y. Li, L. H. Zhang

Biologia plantarum 58:195-199, 2014 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-013-0375-4

The present study examined the effect of salicylic acid (SA) pre-treatment on soybean seedlings exposed to cadmium and/or UV-B stress. Dry mass, pigment content, net photosynthetic rate (P_N), stomatal conductance (g_s), and transpiration rate (E) were decreased by the Cd and/or UV-B stress. SA alleviated the adverse effects of Cd and/or UV-B on growth, pigment content, PN, and gs, but did not mitigate the inhibitory effect of Cd/UV-B on E, or that of Cd on chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. Cd and/or UV-B induced oxidative stress and increased lipid peroxidation that was significantly decreased by SA pre-treatment. The Cd and/or...