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Abscisic acid, ethylene and antioxidative systems in rice grains in relation with grain filling subjected to postanthesis soil-drying

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Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene may mediate the effect of post-anthesis soil drying on grain filling of rice (Oryza sativa L.) through regulating its anti-oxidative systems. Two rice cultivars were pot-grown and exposed, from 9 days post anthesis until maturity, to three soil drying treatments: well-watered (WW), moderate drying (MD), and severe drying (SD). The MD treatment, compared with the WW treatment, increased grain filling rate and the activities of CAT, POD, and SOD in superior and inferior spikelets, whereas the SD treatment decreased them. Both MD and SD treatments enhanced the grain contents of ABA, superoxide anion, and MDA, with a higher rise in the SD than in the MD. The MD treatment decreased ethylene evolution rate and 1-aminocycopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) content, whereas the SD treatment increased them. The ratio of ABA–ACC (ABA/ACC) was the highest under the MD and the lowest under the SD treatment. There was a significant positive correlation between the ABA content, the activities of CAT, POD, SOD, and ABA/ACC with the grain filling rate, while the levels of ethylene and ACC and the contents of superoxide anion and MDA correlated negatively with the parameter. Exogenous chemical application verified the roles of ABA and ethylene in grain filling. The results suggest that an increase in ABA and decrease in ethylene in the grains under post-anthesis moderate soil drying could enhance the anti-oxidative enzyme activities, thus reducing free radicals in grains and accelerating grain filling rate of rice.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

AES:

Anti-oxidative enzymes system

ACC:

1-Aminocycopropane-1-carboxylic acid

CAT:

Catalase

MD:

Moderate soil-drying

DPA:

Days post anthesis

O2 − :

Superoxide anion

POD:

Peroxidase

SD:

Severe soil-drying

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

WW:

Well-watered

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for grants from the National Basic Research Program (2015CB150404, 2012CB114306), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC-IRRI Joint Research Project 31061140457; General Program 31271641, 31171481; Young Program 31201155), China National Public Welfare Industry (Agriculture) Plan (201203031), the Ph.D. Programs Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (20123250120001), the National Key Technology Support Program of China (2011BAD16B14), the Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China

    Hao Zhang, Kai Liu, Zhiqin Wang, Lijun Liu & Jianchang Yang

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  1. Hao Zhang
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  2. Kai Liu
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Correspondence to Hao Zhang.

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Zhang, H., Liu, K., Wang, Z. et al. Abscisic acid, ethylene and antioxidative systems in rice grains in relation with grain filling subjected to postanthesis soil-drying. Plant Growth Regul 76, 135–146 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-014-9983-z

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