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Contrasting Physiological Responses of Jatropha curcas Plants to Single and Combined Stresses of Salinity and Heat

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Abstract

In this study we evaluated the contrasting major physiological responses of Jatropha curcas L. to salinity alone and in combination with high temperature. The plants were subjected to salinity (100 mM NaCl) before and after exposure to 43 °C (heat stress) for 6 h. The effects of salinity were more harmful than heat stress, and the effects of salt stress were increased when both stress factors were combined. The negative effects of the combined treatments included strong impairment of the CO2 assimilation rate and stomata conductance and increased Na+ and Cl− accumulation in the leaves associated with increased membrane damage and lipid peroxidation. Heat favorably stimulated the accumulation of glycine betaine and chlorophyll in the salt-stressed leaves. Treatments with salt, heat, and their combination stimulated the antioxidant enzymatic defense system, that is, the expression of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), whereas the expression of catalase (CAT) was stimulated through treatments with salt alone and in combination with heat; treatment with heat alone did not affect CAT expression. The ascorbate redox state was decreased under salinity stress alone and in combination with heat but remained unaffected when treated with heat alone. Overall, the leaf H2O2 concentration did not change in response to these stresses, but lipid peroxidation and membrane damage was increased. Moreover, high temperature increases the negative effects of salt stress on key physiological processes, but treatment with heat alone is favorable for several metabolic indicators of young J. curcas plants. In contrast with heat, these plants exhibit higher physiological disturbances under isolated salinity stress.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Fundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - FUNCAP (Project 2155/PRONEX) and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnolígico (CNPq) for financial support. The authors would like to thank the Fazenda Tamanduá for supplying of the Jatropha curcas seeds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Metabolismo de Plantas, Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceará, CP 6004, Fortaleza, CE, CEP 60451-970, Brazil

    Evandro N. Silva, Suyanne A. Vieira, Sérgio L. Ferreira-Silva & Joaquim A. G. Silveira

  2. Laboratório de Fisiologia Vegetal ‘Coaracy M. Franco’, Instituto Agronômico, CP 28, Campinas, SP, CEP 13012-970, Brazil

    Rafael V. Ribeiro

  3. Centro de Ciências Agrárias e Biológicas, Universidade Estadual Vale do Acarau, Sobral, CE, CEP 62040-370, Brazil

    Luiz F. A. Ponte

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  1. Evandro N. Silva
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  2. Suyanne A. Vieira
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  3. Rafael V. Ribeiro
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  4. Luiz F. A. Ponte
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  5. Sérgio L. Ferreira-Silva
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  6. Joaquim A. G. Silveira
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Correspondence to Joaquim A. G. Silveira.

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Silva, E.N., Vieira, S.A., Ribeiro, R.V. et al. Contrasting Physiological Responses of Jatropha curcas Plants to Single and Combined Stresses of Salinity and Heat. J Plant Growth Regul 32, 159–169 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-012-9287-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-012-9287-3

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