Abstract
Brassinosteroids are a class of plant polyhydroxysteroids with a diverse of functions in plant growth and development, while ethylene is a gaseous hormone involved in regulation of numerous physiological processes. To evaluate the roles of BR and ethylene in seed germination under conditions of salt stress, effects of 24-Epibrassinolide (EBR) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) on seed germination of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) seeds in the presence of 250 mM NaCl were investigated. Seed germination was significantly inhibited by the presence of NaCl in the incubation medium, and the inhibitory effect was significantly alleviated by addition of EBR and ACC to the incubation medium containing NaCl. There was an increase in ethylene evolution during seed germination and this increase was suppressed by salt stress. The reduction in ethylene evolution from imbibed seeds by salt stress was attenuated by EBR. Salt stress inhibited ACC oxidase (ACO) activity and EBR reversed the salt stress-induced decrease in ACO activity. Salt stress reduced expression of gene encoding ACO (CsACO2), and EBR reversed the salt stress-induced down-regulation of CsACO2. The alleviative effect of EBR on seed germination in the presence of NaCl was diminished by antagonist of ethylene synthesis, aminoethoxyvinylglycine. These results indicate that both ethylene and BR are likely to be associated with suppression of seed germination under salt stress and that the mitigating effect of BR on salt stress-induced inhibition of seed germination may occur through its interaction with ethylene synthesis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Anuradha S, Rao SSR (2003) Application of brassinosteroids to rice seeds (Oryza sativa L.) reduced the impact of salt stress on growth, prevented photosynthetic pigments loss and increased nitrate reductase activity. Plant Growth Regul 40:29–32
Bajgua A, Hayat S (2009) Effect of brassinosteroids on the plant responses to environmental stresses. Plant Physiol Biochem 47:1–8
Bao F, Shen JJ, Brady SR, Muday GK, Asami T, Yang ZB (2004) Brassinosteroids interact with auxin to promote lateral root development in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol 134:1624–1631
Calvo AP, Nicolas C, Lorenzo O, Nicolas G, Rodriguez D (2004) Evidence for positive regulation by gibberellins and ethylene of ACC oxidase expression and activity during transition from dormancy to germination in Fagus sylvatica L. seeds. J Plant Growth Regul 23:44–53
Chang C, Wang B, Shi L, Li Y, Duo L, Zhang W (2010) Alleviation of salt stress- induced inhibition of seed germination in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) by ethylene and glutamate. J Plant Physiol 167:1152–1156
Druege U (2006) Ethylene and plant responses to abiotic stress. In: Khan NA (ed) Ethylene action in plants. Springer, Berlin, pp 81–118
Gianinetti A, Laarhoven LJJ, Persijn ST, Harren FJM, Petruzzelli L (2007) Ethylene production is associated with germination but not seed dormancy in red rice. Ann Bot 99:735–745
Hansen M, Chae HS, Kieber J (2009) Regulation of ACS protein stability by cytokinin and brassinosteroid. Plant J 57:606–614
Kagale S, Divi UK, Krochko JE, Keller WA, Krishna P (2007) Brassinosteroid confers tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus to a range of abiotic stresses. Planta 225:356–364
Kahana A, Silberstein L, Kessler N, Goldstein RS, Perl-Treves R (1999) Expression of ACC oxidase genes differs among sex genotypes and sex phases in cucumber. Plant Mol Biol 41:517–528
Kende H (1993) Ethylene biosynthesis. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol 44:283–307
Klee HJ, Clark DJ (2004) Ethylene signal transduction in fruits and flowers. In: Davies PJ (ed) Plant hormones: biosynthesis, signal transduction, action. Kluwer Academic, Dordrech, pp 369–390
Kucera B, Cohn MA, Leubner-Metzger G (2005) Plant hormone interactions during seed dormancy release and germination. Seed Sci Res 15:281–307
Linkies A, Muller K, Morris K, Tureckova V, Wenk M, Cadman CSC, Corbineau F, Strnad M, Lynn JR, Finch-Savage WE, Leubner-Metzger G (2009) Ethylene interacts with abscisic acid to regulate endospermrupture during germination: a comparative approach using Lepidium sativum and Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell 21:3803–3822
Matilla AJ (2000) Ethylene in seed formation and germination. Seed Sci Res 10:111–126
Matilla AJ, Matilla-Vazquez MA (2008) Involvement of ethylene in seed physiology. Plant Sci 175:87–97
Müssig C, Shi GH, Altmann T (2003) Brassinosteroids promote root growth in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol 133:1261–1271
Nath P, Trivedi PK, Sane VA, Sane AP (2006) Role of ethylene in fruit ripening. In: Khan NA (ed) Ethylene action in plants. Springer, Berlin, pp 151–184
Noguchi T, Fujioka S, Choe S, Takatsuto S, Yoshida S, Yuan H, Feldmann KA, Tax FE (1999) Brassinosteroid-insensitive dwarf mutants of Arabidopsis accumulate brassinosteroids. Plant Physiol 121:743–752
Petruzzelli L, Coraggio I, Leubner-Metzger G (2000) Ethylene promotes ethylene biosynthesis during pea seed germination by positive feedback regulation of 1-aminocyclo-propane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase. Planta 211:144–149
Sasse JM (2003) Physiological actions of brassinosteroids: an update. J Plant Growth Regul 22:276–288
Sasse J, Smith R, Hudson I (1995) Effect of 24-epibrassinolide on germination of seed of Eucalyptus camaldulensis in saline conditions. Proc Plant Growth Regul Soc Am 22:136–141
Sun P, Tian QY, Zhao MG, Dai XY, Huang Li LH, JH Zhang WH (2007) Aluminum-induced ethylene production is associated with inhibition of root elongation in Lotus japonicus L. Plant Cell Physiol 48:1229–1235
Wang KLC, Li H, Ecker JR (2002) Ethylene biosynthesis and signaling networks. Plant Cell 14:S131–S151
Yamasaki S, Fujii N, Matsuura S, Mizusawa H, Takahashi H (2001) The M locus and ethylene-controlled sex determination in andromonoecious cucumber plants. Plant Cell Physiol 42:608–619
Yamasaki S, Fujii N, Takahashi H (2003) Photoperiodic regulation of CS-ACS2, CS-ACS4 and CS-ERS gene expression contributes to the femaleness of cucumber flowers through diurnal ethylene production under short-day conditions. Plant Cell Environ 26:537–546
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National High Technology and Research Development Program of P. R. China (Grant No. 2007AA091705) and Natural Science Foundation of China (30788003).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, B., Zhang, J., Xia, X. et al. Ameliorative effect of brassinosteroid and ethylene on germination of cucumber seeds in the presence of sodium chloride. Plant Growth Regul 65, 407–413 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-011-9595-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-011-9595-9