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AM1 is a potential ABA substitute for drought tolerance as revealed by physiological and ultra-structural responses of oilseed rape

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Abstract

Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important signaling molecule for plants under drought tolerance. However, ABA itself has many limitations to be used in agriculture practically. Recently, AM1 (ABA-mimicking ligand) has been found to replace ABA. In this study, we have investigated AM1’s potential role for drought tolerance by growing two contrasting rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) genotypes: Qinyou 8 (drought sensitive) and Q2 (drought resistant) with exogenous ABA or AM1 application under well-watered and drought-stressed conditions. Results demonstrate that drought stress has hampered plant growth (relative height growth rate, plant biomass, leaf area), plant water status (leaf relative water content, root moisture content, leaf water potential), photosynthetic gas exchange attributes like net photosynthesis rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), transpiration rate (E); chlorophyll fluorescence parameters like photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm), effective quantum yield of PSII (Φ PSII ), photochemical quenching coefficient (qL), electron transport rate (ETR) and chlorophyll content, especially for Qinyou 8 significantly compared to well-watered plants. Whereas increased root/shoot ratio (R/S), water use efficiency (WUE) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) was recorded in both genotypes under drought stress. On the other hand, exogenous ABA or AM1 treatment has regulated all the above parameters in a rational way to avoid drought stress. Chloroplast transmission electron microscope images, especially for Qinyou8, have revealed that oxidative stress induced by drought has blurred the grana thylakoids, increased the size or number of plastoglobules due to lipid peroxidation, and the presence of starch granules depict weak capacity to convert them into simple sugars for osmotic adjustment. However, intact grana thylakoid, few plastoglobules with no or very few starch granules were observed in the chloroplast from ABA- or AM1-treated plants under drought. More importantly, AM1-treated plants under drought stress have responded in an extremely similar way like ABA-treated ones. Finally, it is suggested that AM1 is a potential ABA substitute for plant drought tolerance.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (201203096), 12th Five-Year Plan of National Science and Technology Program (2014BAD11B00), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31101124), and PhD Research Startup Fund, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430062, China

      Muhammad Shahbaz Naeem, Lulu Dai, Jun Li & Chunlei Zhang

    2. Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan

      Muhammad Shahbaz Naeem & Ashfaq Ahmad

    3. Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan

      Farooq Ahmad

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    1. Muhammad Shahbaz Naeem
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    2. Lulu Dai
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    6. Chunlei Zhang
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    Correspondence to Chunlei Zhang.

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    Communicated by H. Li.

    M. S. Naeem and L. Dai contributed equally to this work.

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    Naeem, M.S., Dai, L., Ahmad, F. et al. AM1 is a potential ABA substitute for drought tolerance as revealed by physiological and ultra-structural responses of oilseed rape. Acta Physiol Plant 38, 183 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-016-2190-y

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-016-2190-y

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