Abstract
The effects of 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) added to nutrient solution on growth of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) under root-zone hypoxia were investigated. Cucumber seedlings were hydroponically grown for 8 days in normoxic and hypoxic nutrient solutions with and without addition of EBR at 1 μg l−1. EBR exerted little influence on plant performance in the normoxic nutrient solution, while the chemical alleviated root-zone hypoxia-induced inhibition of root and shoot growth and net photosynthetic rate (Pn). EBR added to hypoxic nutrient solution caused an increase in the concentration of fructose, sucrose, and total soluble sugars in the roots but not in the leaves. Root-zone hypoxia enhanced the activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), and pyruvate decarboxylase in the roots. Interestingly, EBR further enhanced ADH activity but lowered LDH activity in hypoxic roots. These results suggest that EBR added to hypoxic nutrient solution may stimulate the photosynthate allocation down to roots and the shift from lactate fermentation to alcohol fermentation in hypoxic roots, resulting in the increase in ATP production through glycolysis and the avoidance of cytosolic acidosis and eventually enhanced tolerance of cucumber plants to root-zone hypoxia.
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Abbreviations
- ADH:
-
Alcohol dehydrogenase
- BRs:
-
Brassinosteroids
- EBR:
-
24-Epibrassinolide
- LDH:
-
Lactate dehydrogenase
- PDC:
-
Pyruvate decarboxylase
- Pn:
-
Net photosynthetic rate
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30571263, 30871736) and the National Science & Technology Pillar Program (2006BAD07B04). The authors are very grateful to Prof. Hideo Ikeda (Osaka Prefecture University, Japan) and Prof. Shoji Tachibana (Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan) for helping us to revise our manuscript.
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Kang, YY., Guo, SR., Li, J. et al. Effect of root applied 24-epibrassinolide on carbohydrate status and fermentative enzyme activities in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings under hypoxia. Plant Growth Regul 57, 259–269 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-008-9344-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-008-9344-x