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Interactions of S-methylmethionine and UV-B can modify the defence mechanisms induced in maize

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Abstract

We examined the interactions of an exogenously added non-proteinogenic amino acid, S-methylmethionine (SMM) and UV-B radiation in young maize plants. We observed that exposure to UV-B light caused a substantial increase in both the phenolics and anthocyanin contents. Pretreatment with SMM also induced a slight, but statistically significant increase in the total phenol content, and was also able to accelerate the rise in the UV-B-induced anthocyanin level. Gene expression patterns indicated that the general phenylpropanoid pathway was most strongly induced by the combined effect of SMM and UV, while the anthocyanin synthesis by the sole UV-B treatment. SMM treatment and UV-B light led to a substantial increase in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione S-transferase and SMM pretreatment always enhanced the effect of UV-B. While the activity of CAT showed a significant increase in UV-B- and/or SMM-treated plants, APX was stimulated only by SMM. The present results suggest that the protective mechanisms induced by UV-B radiation could be enhanced by SMM treatment and reinforce the earlier observations of priming effects of SMM so that it can contribute to our knowledge about the SMM-induced protection against various types of stressors.

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Abbreviations

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

C3GE:

Cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents

C4H:

Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase

CAT:

Catalase

CHS:

Chalcone synthase

CL-Cont:

Untreated plants grown under control light

CL-SMM:

Plants grown under control light and treated with S-methylmethionine

F v/F m :

Variable to maximum chlorophyll fluorescence ratio

GA:

Gallic acid

GAE:

Gallic acid equivalents

GST:

Glutathione S-transferase

oANI:

Ortho-anisic acid

pHBA:

Para-hydroxybenzoic acid

PPFD:

Photosynthetic photon flux density

qRT-PCR:

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction

SA:

Salicylic acid

SMM:

S-methylmethionine

TCA:

Trichloroacetic acid

UV-Cont:

Plants irradiated with UV but not treated with S-methylmethionine

UV-SMM:

Plants irradiated with UV and treated with S-methylmethionine

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Demeter Lásztity for all his help and advice, Györgyi Balogh for her technical assistance and Barbara Harasztos for revising the manuscript linguistically. Thanks are due to Csaba Marton (MTA ATK Department of Maize Breeding) for providing the maize seeds. This work was funded by a grant from the Hungarian National Scientific Research Fund (OTKA K108834).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Physiology and Molecular Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Pázmány Peter sétány 1/C, 1117, Budapest, Hungary

    Szabolcs Rudnóy, Katalin Páldi & Ilona Rácz

  2. Agricultural Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Brunszvik u. 2, 2462, Martonvásár, Hungary

    Imre Majláth, Magda Pál & Tibor Janda

Authors
  1. Szabolcs Rudnóy
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  2. Imre Majláth
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  3. Magda Pál
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  4. Katalin Páldi
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  5. Ilona Rácz
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  6. Tibor Janda
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Correspondence to Szabolcs Rudnóy.

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Communicated by W. Wang.

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Rudnóy, S., Majláth, I., Pál, M. et al. Interactions of S-methylmethionine and UV-B can modify the defence mechanisms induced in maize. Acta Physiol Plant 37, 148 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-1898-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-1898-4

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