Abstract
Nanmu (Phoebe zhennan S. Lee) is a well-known rare tree species in China that is valued as an ornamental garden plant and for its high timber quality. Recently, the cultivation of nanmu has gained attention for use in tree resource conservation and ecological restoration projects. Drought is a major environmental factor that affects the growth and development of plants. In this study, the drought tolerance and post-drought recovery of nanmu, which is associated with antioxidative enzymes and osmotic adjustment, were examined by exposing nanmu saplings to drought for 30 days followed by 10 days of re-watering in a greenhouse. Drought stress resulted in increased levels of osmolytes, sugars and proteins in nanmu leaves compared with the well-watered controls as well as higher concentrations of superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide, leading to lipid peroxidation and significantly higher activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and guaiacol peroxidase and higher levels of ascorbic acid. After re-watering for 5 days, most of the antioxidant enzymes and ascorbic acid were restored to their original levels, whereas the activity of guaiacol peroxidase and the levels of soluble sugar and soluble protein remained markedly high. Moreover, nanmu saplings maintained normal turgor pressure under mild and moderate drought conditions, indicating the presence of a mechanism that affects osmotic adjustment and growth restriction, thus enabling the plant to adjust to drought stress. These results suggested that an antioxidant defence system and osmolytes play important roles in nanmu during drought stress and recovery.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- ROS:
-
Reactive oxygen species
- OA:
-
Osmotic adjustment
- SWC:
-
Soil water content
- LRWC:
-
Leaf relative water content
- O2 − :
-
Superoxide radical
- H2O2 :
-
Hydrogen peroxide
- MDA:
-
Malondialdehyde
- SOD:
-
Superoxide dismutase
- CAT:
-
Catalase
- POD:
-
Guaiacol peroxidase
- APX:
-
Ascorbate peroxidase
- AsA:
-
Ascorbic acid
- Pro:
-
Proline
- SS:
-
Soluble sugar
- SP:
-
Soluble protein
References
Ackerson RC (1981) Osmoregulation in cotton in response to water stress II. Leaf carbohydrate status in relation to osmotic adjustment. Plant Physiol 67:489–493
Alves AAC, Setter TL (2004) Response of cassava leaf area expansion to water deficit: cell proliferation, cell expansion and delayed development. Ann Bot 94:605–613
An Y, Zhang M, Liu G et al (2013) Proline accumulation in leaves of Periploca sepium via both biosynthesis up-regulation and transport during recovery from severe drought. PLoS One. doi:10.1371/journalpone.0069942
Apel K, Hirt H (2004) Reactive oxygen species: metabolism, oxidative stress, and signal transduction. Ann Rev Plant Biol 55:373–399
Arafat AHAL, He XC (2011) Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on growth, mineral nutrition, antioxidant enzymes activity and fruit yield of tomato grown under salinity stress. Sci Hortic 127:228–233
Asada K (1992) Ascorbate peroxidase-A hydrogen peroxide-scavenging enzyme in plants. Physiol Plant 85:235–241
Bohnert HJ, Jensen RG (1996) Strategies for engineering water-stress tolerance in plants. Trends Biotechnol 14:89–97
Bradford MM (1976) A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem 72:248–254
Brennan T, Frenkel C (1977) Involvement of hydrogen peroxide in the regulation of senescence in pear. Plant Physiol 59:411–416
Chaves MM, Pereira JS, Maroco J, Rodrigues ML et al (2002) How plants cope with water stress in the field? Photosynthesis and growth. Ann Bot 89:907–916
Chen LH, Han Y, Jiang H, Korpelainen H, Li CY (2011) Nitrogen nutrient status induces sexual differences in responses to cadmium in Populus yunnanensis. J Exp Bot 62:5037–5050
David TS, Henriques MO, Kurz-Besson C et al (2007) Water-use strategies in two co-occurring mediterranean evergreen oaks: surviving the summer drought. Tree Physiol 27:793–803
Demirevska K, Zasheva D, Dimitrov R et al (2009) Drought stress effects on Rubisco in wheat: changes in the Rubisco large subunit. Acta Physiol Plant 31:1129–1138
Foyer CH, Noctor G (2011) Ascorbate and glutathione: the heart of the redox hub. Plant Physiol 155:2–18
Foyer C, Rowell J, Walker D (1983) Measurement of the ascorbate content of spinach leaf protoplasts and chloroplasts during illumination. Planta 157:239–244
Gill SS, Tuteja N (2010) Reactive oxygen species and antioxidant machinery in abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. Plant Physiol Biochem 48:909–930
Hayat S, Hayat Q, Alyemeni MN et al (2012) Role of proline under changing environments. Plant Signal Behavior 7:1–11
Hodges DM, DeLong JM, Forney CF, Robert K, Prange (1999) Improving the thiobarbituric acid-reactive-substances assay for estimating lipid peroxidation in plant tissues containing anthocyanin and other interfering compounds. Planta 207:604–611
Hrishikesh U, Sanjib KP, Biman KD (2008) Variation of physiological and antioxidative responses in tea cultivars subjected to elevated water stress followed by rehydration recovery. Acta Physiol Plant 30:457–468
Impa SM, Nadaradjan S, Jagadish SVK (2012) Drought stress induced reactive oxygen species and anti-oxidants. Abiotic stress responses in plants. Springer, New York, pp 131–147
Kang JM, Yang QC, Fan FC (2005) Effects of drought stress on induced protein in the different drought resistance Alfalfa leaf. Acta Agrestia Sinca 13:199–202
Lambers H, Shane MW, Cramer MD, Pearse SJ, Veneklaas EJ (2006) Root structure and functioning for efficient acquisition of phosphorus: matching morphological and physiological traits. Ann Bot 98:693–713
Li ZG, Yuan LX, Wang QL, Ding ZL, Dong CY (2013a) Combined action of antioxidant defence system and osmolytes in chilling shock-induced chilling tolerance in Jatropha curcas seedlings. Acta Physiol Plant 35:2127–2136
Li Z, Peng Y, Ma X (2013b) Different response on drought tolerance and post-drought recovery between the small-leafed and the large-leafed white clover (Trifolium repens L.) associated with antioxidative enzyme protection and lignin metabolism. Acta Physiol Plant 35:213–222
Li Z, Peng Y, Pan MH, Ma HP, Wang XJ (2014) Effects of spermidine on the accumulation of osmoregulation matter in leaves of white clover under PEG stress. Chin J Grassland 36:31–36
Moller IM (2001) Plant mitochondrial and oxidative stress: electron transport, NADPH turnover, and metabolism of reactive oxygen species. Ann Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol 52:561–591
Niu Y, Wang Y, Li P, Zhang F, Liu H, Zheng GC (2013) Drought stress induces oxidative stress and the antioxidant defence system in ascorbate-deficient vtc1 mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana. Acta Physiol Plant 35:1189–1200
Panozzo JF, Eagles HA (1999) Rate and duration of grain filling and grain nitrogen accumulation of wheat cultivars grown in different environments. Crop Pasture Sci 50:1007–1016
Patakas A, Nikolaou N, Zioziou E, Radoglou K, Noitsakis B (2002) The role of organic solute and ion accumulation in osmotic adjustment in drought-stressed grapevines. Plant Sci 163:361–367
Reddy AR, Chaitanya KV, Vivekanandan M (2004) Drought-induced responses of photosynthesis and antioxidant metabolism in higher plants. J Plant Physiol 161:1189–1202
Silva EN, Ferreira SL, Viegas RA, Silveira JAG (2010) The role of organic and inorganic solutes in the osmotic adjustment of drought-stressed Jatropha curcas plants. Environ Exp Bot 69:279–285
Smirnoff N (1993) The role of active oxygen in the response of plants to water deficit and desiccation. New Phytol 125:27–58
Szabados L, Savouré A (2010) Proline: a multifunctional amino acid. Trends Plant Sci 15:89–97
Verbruggen N, Hermans C (2008) Proline accumulation in plants: a review. Amino Acids 35:753–759
Verslues PE, Sharma S (2010) Proline metabolism and its implications for plant-environment interaction. The Arabidopsis Book. doi: 10.1199/tab.0140
Wang S, Wan C, Wang Y et al (2004) The characteristics of Na+, K+ and free proline distribution in several drought-resistant plants of the Alxa Desert, China. J Arid Environ 56:525–539
Wang XK, Zhang WH, Hao ZB (2006) The principle and technology of plant physiology and biochemistry. Higher Eduacation Press, Beijing
Wu WM (2009) Study on stand structure and growth law of near-mature Phoebe bourmei plantation. China Forestry Sci Technol 23:75–78
Wu H, Wu X, Li Z, Duan LS, Zhang M (2012) Physiological evaluation of drought stress tolerance and recovery in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) seedlings treated with methyl jasmonate and coronatine. J Plant Growth Regul 31:113–123
Yancey PH (2001) Water stress, osmolytes and proteins. Am Zool 41:699–709
Zhang XF, Kong HY, Li PF, Li JN, Xiong JL, Wang SM, Xiong CY (2011) Recent advances in research on drought-induced proteins and the related genes in wheat (Triticum aestivu L.). Acta Ecologica Sinica 31:2641–2653
Acknowledgments
We thank the National Support Program (2011BAC09B05) and the Sichuan Province Crop Breeding Project (2011NZ0098-10) for funding this project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by A. Gniazdowska-Piekarska.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hu, Y., Wang, B., Hu, T. et al. Combined action of an antioxidant defence system and osmolytes on drought tolerance and post-drought recovery of Phoebe zhennan S. Lee saplings. Acta Physiol Plant 37, 84 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-1831-x
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-1831-x