Abstract
The pattern of solute accumulation and the activities of key enzymes involved in metabolism of proline and betaine were investigated in three ecotypes of reed from different habitats: swamp reed (SR), dune reed (DR), and heavy salt meadow reed (HSR). The two terrestrial reed ecotypes, DR and HSR, exhibited a higher capacity for osmotic adjustment; they accumulated higher contents of K+ and Ca2+ in the leaves in comparison with SR. DR also had the highest soluble sugar content in its leaves. HSR has higher levels of Na+ in its root environment and this was reflected by considerable accumulation of Na+ in the HSR rhizome. However, the different zones of its leaf lamina (upper, middle and lower) did not exhibit increased levels of Na+, suggesting that HSR has the ability to accumulate Na+ in the rhizome to protect the shoots from excessive Na+ toxicity. DR and HSR had higher levels of proline and betaine in the leaves than did SR. This difference was consistent with the activities of the various biosynthetic enzymes: betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH), pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (P5CR) and ornithine-δ-aminotransferase (OAT) were enhanced in DR and HSR as compared to SR, whereas proline oxidase (PO) activities were inhibited. These findings suggest that changes in the activities of enzymes involved in osmotregulation might play important roles in the adaptation of reed, a hydrophilic plant, to more extreme dune and saline habitats. The relative contributions of the various proline synthetic pathways are also discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bates L.S., Waldren R.P. and Teare I.D.1973. Rapid determination of free proline for water stress studies. Plant Soil39:205-207.
Billard J.P.1997. Effects of salt stress on proline content and ornithine aminotransferase activity in radish cotyledons. Russ. J. Plant Physiol.44:541-546.
Bradford M.M.1976. A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal. Biochem.72:248-254.
Delauney A.J. and Verma D.P.S.1993. Proline biosynthesis and osmoregulation in plants. Plant J.4:215-223.
Evans J.1992. Osmotic relations of the drought-tolerant shrub Artemesia tridentata in response to water stress. Plant Cell Environ.15:49-59.
Ford C.W. and Wilson J.R.1981. Changes in leaves of solutes during osmotic adjustment to water stress in leaves of four tropical pasture species. Aust. J. Plant Physiol.8:77-91.
Haslam S.M.1970. Variation of population types in Phragmites communis Trin. Ann. Bot.34:147-158.
Hayashi H., Alia Mustardy L., Deshnium P., Ida M. and Murata N.1997. Transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana with the CodA gene for choline oxidase:accumulation of glycinebetaine and enhanced tolerance to slatand cold stress. Plant J. 12:133–142.
Huang H.C. and Cavalieri J.A.1979. Proline oxidase and water stress induced proline accumulation in spinach leaves. Plant Physiol.63:531-535.
Jing J.H. and Ding Z.R.1981. Measurement of chloride in plant. In:Jing J.H. and Ding Z.R. (eds), Biochemical Analysis Methods for Plants. Science Press, Beijing, pp. 29-31.
Kameli A. and Lösel D.M.1995. Contribution of carbohydrates and other solutes to osmotic adjustment in wheatleaves under water stress. J. Plant Physiol.145:363-366.
Kishor P.B.K., Hong Z.L., Miao G.H., Hu C.A. and Verma D.P.S.1995. Overexpression of δ1-pyrrolin-5-carboxylate synthtase increase proline production and confers osmotolerance in transgenic plants. Plant Physiol.108:1887-1894.
Liang Z., Zhao Y., Li Y.C., Luo A.L., Zou Y.P., Luo A.L. and Huang J.F.1991. Oxidation of betaine aldehyde by betaine dehydrogenase from spinach leaves. Acta Bot. Sin.33:680-686.
Liu K. and Luan S.1998. Voltage-dependent K+ channels as targets of osmosensing in guard cells. Plant Cell10:1957-1970.
Ludlow M.M., Chu A.C.P., Clements R.J. and Kerslake R.G.1983. Adaptation of species of Centrosema to water stress. Aust. J. Plant Physiol.10:119-130.
Ma G.Z.1991. Analytical methods for different ions content in soil. In:Li L.Z., Ma G.Z. and Wang J.Y. (eds), Rock and Mineral Analysis. 3rd edn.Geology Publishing Company, Beijing, pp. 593-618.
Matoh T., Matsushita N. and Takahashi E.1988. Salt tolerance of the reed plant Phragmites communis. Physiol. Plant72:8-14.
Matsushiza N. and Matoh T.1991. Characterization of Na+ exclusion mechanisms of salt tolerant reed plants in comparison with salt-sensitive rice plants. Physiol. Plant83:170-176.
Rascio A., Platani C., Scalfati G., Tonti A. and Fonzo N.D.1994. The accumulation of solutes and water binding strength in durum wheat. Plant Physiol.90:715-721.
Roosens N.H.C.J., Thu T.T., Iskandar H.M. and Jacobs M.1998. Isolation of the ornithine-δ-aminotransferase cDNA and effect of salt stress on its expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiol.117:263-271.
Roosens N.H., Willem R., Li Y., Verbruggen I., Biesemans M. and Jacobs M.1999. Proline metabolism in the wild-type and in a salt-tolerant mutant of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia studied by 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. Plant Physiol.121:1281-1290.
Strizhof N., Abraham E. and Okresz L.1997. Differential expression of two P5CS genes controlling proline accumulation during salt stress requires ABA and is regulated by ABAI, ABAII and AXR2 in Arabidopsis. Plant J.12:557-569.
Sudhakar C., Reddy P.S. and Veeranjaneyulu K.1993. Effect of salt stress on the enzymes of poline synthesis and oxidation in greengram (Phaseolus aureus Roxb.) seedlings. J. Plant Physiol.141:621-623.
Wang H.L., Hao L.M., Wen J.Q., Zhang C.L. and Liang H.G.1998. Differential expression of photosynthesis-related genes of reed ecotypes in response to drought and saline habitats. Photosynthetica35:61-69.
Wang H.L., Zhang C.L. and Chen G.C.1994. Season changes of ions in habitatadaptation of different ecotypes of reed. Acta Ecol. Sin.14:56-60.
Yemm E.W. and Willis A.J.1954. The estimation of carbonhydrates in plant extracts by Anthrone. Biochem. J.57:508-514.
Yoshiba Y., Kiyosue T., Nakashima K., Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K. and Shinozaki K.1997. Regulation of levels of proline as an osmolyte in plants under water stress. Plant Cell Physiol.38:1095-1102.
Zheng W.J., Zheng X.P. and Zhang C.L.2000. A survey of photosynthetic carbon metabolism in four ecotypes of Phragmites australis in northwest China:leaf anatomy, ultrastructure, and activities of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and glycollate oxidase. Physiol. Plant.10:201-208.
Zhu X.Y., Chen G.C. and Zhang C.L.2001. Photosynthetic electron transport, photophosphorylation, and antioxidants in two ecotypes of reed (Phragmites communis Trin.) from different habitats. Photosynthetica39:183-189.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhu, Xy., Jing, Y., Chen, Gc. et al. Solute levels and osmoregulatory enzyme activities in reed plants adapted to drought and saline habitats. Plant Growth Regulation 41, 165–172 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1027381006811
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1027381006811