Abstract
Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), one of the most valuable economic plants from the Zingiberaceae family, is used worldwide as a spice and flavoring agent in the beverage, bakery, confectionary, and pharmaceutical industries. Soil moisture is one of the most important constraints in ginger cultivation. In the present paper, the phenotype, physiology, biochemistry, and expression difference of genes coding for key enzyme for endogenous hormone metabolism in ginger under different soil moisture conditions (water-filled pore space, WFPS) were measured. Our results indicated that with the increase of soil moisture content, the ramet number of Z. officinale gradually increased, and the ramet number increased to 26.7 ± 3.7 at 40% humidity. However, the stem height, stem diameter, and the relative chlorophyll content were highest at 25% humidity. Similarly, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) as well as the contents of abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene (Eth) content remained relatively low at 25% humidity, whereas they were relatively high at lower moisture (10%) and higher moisture (30–40%) levels. In addition, the expression patterns of key enzyme-coding genes involved in ABA synthesis and Eth metabolism were analyzed to elucidate the effect of soil moisture on ginger cultivation. The results showed that the expression of the genes were in accordance with the variation of ABA and Eth under different soil moisture levels. In sum, soil moisture significantly affects the growth of Z. officinale, and 25% soil humidity is suitable for the growth of Z. officinale.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- ABA:
-
Abscisic acid
- ACO:
-
1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate acid oxidase
- ACS:
-
1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate acid synthetase
- Eth:
-
Ethylene
- MDA:
-
Malondialdehyde
- NCED:
-
9-Cis epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase
- POD:
-
Peroxidase
- SOD:
-
Superoxide dismutase
- WFPS:
-
Water-filled pore space
References
Aghelan Z, Shariat SZ (2015) Partial purification and biochemical characterization of peroxidase from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) leaves. Adv Biomed Res 4:159–165. https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9175.161586
Bostock RM, Pye MF, Roubtsova TV (2014) Predisposition in plant disease: exploiting the nexus in abiotic and biotic stress perception and response. Annu Rev Phytopathol 52:517–549. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-phyto-081211-172902
Bresson J, Vasseur F, Dauzat M et al (2015) Quantifying spatial heterogeneity of chlorophyll fluorescence during plant growth and in response to water stress. Plant Methods 11:23–37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-015-0067-5
Chaves MM, Pereira JS, Maroco J et al (2002) How plants cope with water stress in the field? Photosynthesis and growth. Ann Bot-Lond 89:907–916. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcf105
Christianson JA, Llewellyn DJ, Dennis ES et al (2009) Global gene expression responses to waterlogging in roots and leaves of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Plant Cell Physiol 51:21–37. https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcp163
Cui M, Lin Y, Zu Y et al (2015) Ethylene increases accumulation of compatible solutes and decreases oxidative stress to improve plant tolerance to water stress in Arabidopsis. J Plant Biol 58:193–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12374-014-0302-z
Dathe A, Fleisher DH, Timlin DJ et al (2014) Modeling potato root growth and water uptake under water stress conditions. Agric For Meteor 194:37–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.03.011
Du W, Deng P, Li S et al (2014) Causes and control measures of ginger blast in Chongqing area. South China Agric 8:24–26. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1673-890X.2014.09.009
Durak I, Yurtarslanl Z, Canbolat O et al (1993) A methodological approach to superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity assay based on inhibition of nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction. Clin chim acta 214:103–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-8981(93)90307-P
Hückelhoven R (2007) Cell wall-associated mechanisms of disease resistance and susceptibility. Annu Rev Phytopathol 45:101–127. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.phyto.45.062806.094325
Jiang Y, Liao Q, Zou Y et al (2017) Transcriptome analysis reveals the genetic basis underlying the biosynthesis of volatile oil, gingerols, and diarylheptanoids in ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.). Bot Stud 58:41–53. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40529-017-0195-5
Jiang Y, Liao Q, Li H et al (2018) Ginger: Response to pathogen-related diseases. Physiol Mol Plant Pathol 102:88–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmpp.2017.12.003
Kalaji HM, Jajoo A, Oukarroum A et al (2016) Chlorophyll a fluorescence as a tool to monitor physiological status of plants under abiotic stress conditions. Acta Physiol Plant 38:102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-016-2113-y
Kazan K (2015) Diverse roles of jasmonates and ethylene in abiotic stress tolerance. Trends Plant Sci 20:219–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2015.02.001
Kreuzwieser J, Rennenberg H (2014) Molecular and physiological responses of trees to waterlogging stress. Plant Cell Environ 37:2245–2259. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12310
Marti J, Savin R, Slafer GA (2015) Wheat yield as affected by length of exposure to waterlogging during stem elongation. J Agron Crop Sci 201:473–486. https://doi.org/10.1111/jac.12118
Mauch-Mani B, Mauch F (2005) The role of abscisic acid in plant–pathogen interactions. Curr Opin Plant Biol 8:409–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2005.05.015
Olds CL, Glennon EK, Luckhart S (2018) Abscisic acid: new perspectives on an ancient universal stress signaling molecule. Microbes Infect 8:409–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micinf.2018.01.009
Osakabe Y, Osakabe K, Shinozaki K et al (2014) Response of plants to water stress. Front Plant Sci 5:86–94. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2014.00086
Peleg Z, Blumwald E (2011) Hormone balance and abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. Curr Opin Plant Biol 14:290–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2011.02.001
Schmedes A, Hølmer G (1989) A new thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method for determining free malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydroperoxides selectively as a measure of lipid peroxidation. J Am Oil Chem Soc 66:813–817. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02653674
Shabala S, Shabala L, Barcelo J et al (2014) Membrane transporters mediating root signalling and adaptive responses to oxygen deprivation and soil flooding. Plant Cell Environ 37:2216–2233. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12339
Smethurst CF, Garnett T, Shabala S (2005) Nutritional and chlorophyll fluorescence responses of lucerne (Medicago sativa) to waterlogging and subsequent recovery. Plant Soil 270:31–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-004-1084-x
Tobin RL, Kulmatiski A (2018) Plant identity and shallow soil moisture are primary drivers of stomatal conductance in the savannas of Kruger National Park. PLoS One 13:e0191396. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191396
Verslues PE, Agarwal M, Katiyar-Agarwal S et al (2006) Methods and concepts in quantifying resistance to drought, salt and freezing, abiotic stresses that affect plant water status. The Plant J 45:523–539. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-313X.2005.02593.x
Xu K, Zhao D (1994) Analysis of the relationship between agronomic characters and ginger yield. J Hebei Agrotech Teach 8:5–8 (Chinese)
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31501273), the Chongqing Research Program of Basic Research and Frontier Technology (Nos. cstc2015jcyjA80003, cstc2017jcyjAX0140), the Scientific and Technological Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (Nos. KJ1601108, KJ1601109), and the Chongqing Social Undertakings and the People’s Livelihood Security Program (No. cstc2016shmszx0483).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by K. Apostol.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, H., Huang, M., Tan, D. et al. Effects of soil moisture content on the growth and physiological status of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe). Acta Physiol Plant 40, 125 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-018-2698-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-018-2698-4