Salt acclimation in sorghum plants by exogenous proline: physiological and biochemical changes and regulation of proline metabolism

de Freitas, Paulo André Ferreira; de Carvalho, Humberto Henrique; Costa, José Hélio; Miranda, Rafael de Souza; Saraiva, Kátia Daniella da Cruz; de Oliveira, Francisco Dalton Barreto; Coelho, Daniel Gomes; Prisco, José Tarquinio; Gomes-Filho, Enéas

doi:10.1007/s00299-019-02382-5

Original Article
Published: 25 January 2019

Salt acclimation in sorghum plants by exogenous proline: physiological and biochemical changes and regulation of proline metabolism

Paulo André Ferreira de Freitas¹,
Humberto Henrique de Carvalho¹,
José Hélio Costa ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7914-0150¹,
Rafael de Souza Miranda ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9087-6190²,
Kátia Daniella da Cruz Saraiva³,
Francisco Dalton Barreto de Oliveira¹,
Daniel Gomes Coelho ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7760-2275¹,
José Tarquinio Prisco¹ &
Enéas Gomes-Filho ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5945-6596¹

Plant Cell Reports volume 38, pages 403–416 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Key message

Mitigation of deleterious effects of salinity promoted by exogenous proline can be partially explained by changes in proline enzymatic metabolism and expression of specific proline-related genes.

Abstract

Proline accumulation is a usual response to salinity. We studied the ability of exogenous proline to mitigate the salt harmful effects in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) leaves. Ten-day-old plants were cultivated in Hoagland’s nutrient solution in either the absence or presence of salinity (NaCl at 75 mM) and sprayed with distilled water or 30 mM proline solution. Salinity deleterious effects were alleviated by exogenous proline 14 days after treatment, with a return in growth and recovery of leaf area and photosynthetic parameters. Part of the salinity response reflected an improvement in ionic homeostasis, provided by reduction in Na⁺ and Cl⁻ ions and increases in K⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions as well as increases of compatible solutes. In addition, the application of proline decreased membrane damage and did not increase relative water content. Proline-treated salt-stressed plants displayed increase in proline content, a response counterbalanced by punctual modulation in proline synthesis (down-regulation of Δ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase activity) and degradation (up-regulation of proline dehydrogenase activity) enzymes. These responses were correlated with expression of specific proline-related genes (p5cs1 and prodh). Our findings clearly show that proline treatment results in favorable changes, reducing salt-induced damage and improving salt acclimation in sorghum plants.

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Abbreviations

Ctrl:: Control treatment
DAT:: Days after treatments
GSA:: Glutamic-γ-semialdehyde
HKT:: High-affinity K⁺ transporter
NHX:: Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter exchanger
OAT:: Ornithine-δ-aminotransferase
P:: Proline treatment
P5C:: Δ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate
P5CDH:: Pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase
P5CR:: Δ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase
P5CS:: P5C synthetase
ProDH:: Proline dehydrogenase/proline oxidase
S:: Saline treatment
SOS1:: Salt overly sensitive 1 Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter
SP:: Saline/proline treatment

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Acknowledgements

We thank Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for financial support and scholarships.

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Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Salinidade (INCTSal/CNPq), Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, 60440-554, Brazil
Paulo André Ferreira de Freitas, Humberto Henrique de Carvalho, José Hélio Costa, Francisco Dalton Barreto de Oliveira, Daniel Gomes Coelho, José Tarquinio Prisco & Enéas Gomes-Filho
Universidade Federal do Piauí, Campus Professora Cinobelina Elvas, Bom Jesus, PI, 64900-000, Brazil
Rafael de Souza Miranda
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia da Paraíba, Campus Princesa Isabel, Princesa Isabel, PB, 58755-000, Brazil
Kátia Daniella da Cruz Saraiva

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Paulo André Ferreira de Freitas
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Humberto Henrique de Carvalho
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José Hélio Costa
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Rafael de Souza Miranda
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Kátia Daniella da Cruz Saraiva
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Francisco Dalton Barreto de Oliveira
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Daniel Gomes Coelho
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José Tarquinio Prisco
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Enéas Gomes-Filho
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de Freitas, P.A.F., de Carvalho, H.H., Costa, J.H. et al. Salt acclimation in sorghum plants by exogenous proline: physiological and biochemical changes and regulation of proline metabolism. Plant Cell Rep 38, 403–416 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-019-02382-5

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Received: 15 July 2018
Accepted: 16 January 2019
Published: 25 January 2019
Issue Date: 08 March 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-019-02382-5

Keywords

Gene expression
Salinity tolerance
Sorghum bicolor
Proline treatment

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