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Physiological Characteristics of Medicago sativa L. in Response to Acid Deposition and Freeze-Thaw Stress

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Abstract

Acid deposition and temperature variation could lead to changes of physiological characteristics of plants in response to stress. In this paper, Medicago sativa CV. Dongmu–1 was investigated to test the effects of freeze-thaw circle and acid deposition upon the changes of osmotic adjustment substances, biological membrane permeability, and antioxidant enzymes. The experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions, and the seedlings were divided into four groups (group I: no treatment, group II: acid stressed only, group III: freeze-thaw stressed only, group IV: both freeze-thaw and acid stressed). Results indicated that under freeze-thaw circle and acid deposition, the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline increased respectively by 0.6~203.4 and 19.3~68.8% when compared with group I, while protein content declined by 4.1~31.7%, and the effects were even significant than freeze-thaw-only stressed groups. In the freeze-thaw process, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity dropped at first and then increased with the increase of temperature, peaking at − 3 °C by 1118.45 U g−1; peroxidase (POD) activity showed a brief rise and declined rapidly below 0 °C. By increasing the potentials of antioxidant enzymes and MDA, the membrane lipid peroxidation inside alfalfa was prevented; meanwhile, several indexes changed adaptively in resisting hurts. Variation of SOD and POD was induced by the defense mechanism, which showed alfalfa’s satisfactory cold resistance and acid tolerance. Further research on acid deposition and freeze-thaw circle would be beneficial for the global cultivation of forage grass.

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Funding

This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 31772669 and 31270367) and Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province of China (Grant No. 20150101089JC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Groundwater Resources and Environment of the Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Resources, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China

    Guozhang Bao, Qiqi Li, Yishu Bao, Yue Zheng & Xiaoxia Feng

  2. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Qi Ao

  3. College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, 130062, China

    Xuemei Ding

Authors
  1. Guozhang Bao
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  2. Qi Ao
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  3. Qiqi Li
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  4. Yishu Bao
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  5. Yue Zheng
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  6. Xiaoxia Feng
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  7. Xuemei Ding
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Correspondence to Guozhang Bao.

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Guozhang Bao is a professor. Research field is range ecology.

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Bao, G., Ao, Q., Li, Q. et al. Physiological Characteristics of Medicago sativa L. in Response to Acid Deposition and Freeze-Thaw Stress. Water Air Soil Pollut 228, 376 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3561-8

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