Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Morphological and physiological changes of ramie (Boehmeria nivea L. Gaud) in response to drought stress and GA3 treatment

  • Research Papers
  • Published:
Russian Journal of Plant Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ramie (Boehmeria nivea L. Gaud) fibers extracted from the stem bast is one of the most important natural fibers. Ramie growth is severely hindered by drought stress but is promoted by gibberellins (GAs). In order to investigate ramie morphological and physiological responses to drought stress and GA3 treatment, four groups of potted ramie (severe drought stress (DS), severe drought stress and spraying with GA3 (DS + GA3), normal watering and spraying with GA3 (control + GA3), and normal watering as a control) were tested. The result showed that, comparing with the ramie growing under well watering condition, a decrease in chlorophyll a (Chl a) and carotenoid and an increase in proline and soluble sugar contents were commonly observed in drought-stressed and GA3-treated ramie. Different responses of the stem morphological traits, fiber yield, and seven physiological characteristics (relative water content, the activities of POD, SOD, and CAT enzymes, the contents of Chl b, endogenous GAs and MDA) were observed between drought-stressed and GA3-treated plants. When the ramie suffering drought stress was sprayed with GA3 (in (DS + GA3) group), the responses of some physiological traits (POD, SOD, CAT, MDA, and endogenous GAs) and morphological traits (stem shape and fiber yield) to drought stress disappeared completely or partially, and the plant presented similar characteristics of well-watered ramie in these traits. These results suggested that the application of exogenous GA3 can improve the drought tolerance of ramie.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

BT:

bark thickness

CAT:

catalase

Chl:

chlorophyll

CK:

cytokinins

GA:

gibberellin

PH:

plant height

POD:

peroxidase

RWC:

relative water content

DS:

sev drought stress

SD:

stem diameter

SOD:

superoxide dismutase

References

  1. Bray, E., Plant responses to water deficit, Trends Plant Sci., 1997, vol. 2, pp. 48–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Liu, F., Liu, Q., Liang, X., Huang, H., and Zhang, S., Morphological, anatomical, and physiological assessment of ramie (Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaud.) tolerance to soil drought, Gen. Res. Crop Evol., 2005, vol. 52, pp. 497–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Loutfy, N., El-Tayeb, M., Hassanen, A., Moustafa, M., Sakuma, Y., and Inouhe, M., Changes in the water status and osmotic solute contents in response to drought and salicylic acid treatments in four different cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum), J. Plant Res., 2012, vol. 125, pp. 173–184.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Xiong, J., Zhang, L., Fu, G., Yang, Y., Zhu, C., and Tao, L., Drought-induced proline accumulation is uninvolved with increased nitric oxide, which alleviates drought stress by decreasing transpiration in rice, J. Plant Res., 2012, vol. 125, pp. 155–164.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Franca, M., Prados, L., Lemos-Filho, J., Ranieri, B., and Vale, F., Morphophysiological differences in leaves of Lavoisiera campos-portoana (Melastomataceae) enhance higher drought tolerance in water shortage events, J. Plant Res., 2012, vol. 125, pp. 85–92.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Li, J., Sima, W., Ouyang, B., Wang, T., Ziaf, K., Luo, Z., Liu, L., Li, H., Chen, M., Huang, Y., Feng, Y., Hao, Y., and Ye, Z., Tomato SlDREB gene restricts leaf expansion and internode elongation by downregulating key genes for gibberellin biosynthesis, J. Exp. Bot., 2012, vol. 63, pp. 6407–6420.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hooley, R., Gibberellins: perception, transduction and responses, Plant Mol. Biol., 1994, vol. 26, pp. 1529–1555.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Yamaguchi, S., Gibberellin metabolism and its regulation, Annu. Rev. Plant Biol., 2008, vol. 59, pp. 225–251.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Thomas, S. and Sun, T., Update on gibberellin signaling. A tale of the tall and the short, Plant Physiol., 2004, vol. 135, pp. 668–676.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Xie, Z., Jiang, D., Cao, W., Dai, T., and Jing, Q., Relationships of endogenous plant hormones to accumulation of grain protein and starch in winter wheat under different post-anthesis soil water statuses, Plant Growth Regul., 2003, vol. 41, pp. 117–127.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Wang, C., Yang, A., Yin, H., and Zhang, J., Influence of water stress on endogenous hormone contents and cell damage of maize seedlings, J. Integr. Plant Biol., 2008, vol. 50, pp. 427–434.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Qin, F., Sakuma, Y., Tran, L., Maruyama, K., Kidokoro, S., Fujita, Y., Fujita, M., Umezawa, T., Sawano, Y., Miyazono, K., Tanokura, M., Shinozaki, K., and Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, K., Arabidopsis DREB2A-interacting proteins function as RING E3 ligases and negatively regulate plant drought stress-responsive gene expression, Plant Cell, 2008, vol. 20, pp. 1693–1707.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Achard, P., Gong, F., Cheminant, S., Alioua, M., Hedden, P., and Genschika, P., The cold-inducible CBF1 factor-dependent signaling pathway modulates the accumulation of the growth-repressing DELLA proteins via its effect on gibberellin metabolism, Plant Cell, 2008, vol. 20, pp. 2117–2129.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Zheng, J., Fu, J., Gou, M., Huai, J., Liu, Y., Jian, M., Huang, Q., Guo, X., Dong, Z., Wang, H., and Wang, G., Genome-wide transcriptome analysis of two maize inbred lines under drought stress, Plant Mol. Biol., 2010, vol. 72, pp. 407–421.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Alonso-Ramírez, A., Rodríguez, D., Reyes, D., Jiménez, J., Nicolás, G., López-Climent, M., Gómez-Cadenas, A., and Nicolás, C., Evidence for a role of gibberellins in salicylic acid-modulated early plant responses to abiotic stress in Arabidopsis seeds, Plant Physiol., 2009, vol. 150, pp. 1335–1344.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Xiong, H., Jiang, J., Yu, C., and Guo, Y., Relation between yield-related trait and yield in ramie, Acta Agron. Sinica, 1998, vol. 24, pp. 155–160.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Cao, W., Wang, Z., and Dai, T., Changes in levels of endogenous plant hormones during floret development in wheat genotypes of different spike sizes, Acta Bot. Sinica, 2000, vol. 42, pp. 1026–1032.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Yamasaki, S. and Dillenburg, L., Measurements of leaf relative water content in Araucaria angustifolia, Rev. Brasil. Fisiol. Veget., 1999, vol. 11, pp. 69–75.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Metzner, H., Rau, H., and Senger, H., Untersuchunge zur Synchronisierbarkarkeit einzelner Pigment-Mangle Mutanten von Chlorella, Planta, 1965, vol. 65, pp. 186–194.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Fales, F., The assimilation and degradation of carbohydrates by yeast cells, J. Biol. Chem., 1951, vol. 193, pp. 113–124.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Chang, C. and Kao, C., H2O2 metabolism during senescence of rice leaves: changes in enzyme activities in light and darkness, Plant Growth Regul., 1998, vol. 25, pp. 11–15.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Peleg, Z. and Blumwald, E., Hormone balance and abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants, Curr. Opin. Plant Biol., 2011, vol. 14, pp. 290–295.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Rivero, R., Kojima, M., Gepstein, A., Sakakibara, H., Mittler, R., Gepstein, S., and Blumwald, E., Delayed leaf senescence induces extreme drought tolerance in a flowering plant, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2007, vol. 104, pp. 19 631–19 636.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Rivero, R., Shulaev, V., and Blumwald, E., Cytokinindependent photorespiration and the protection of photosynthesis during water deficit, Plant Physiol., 2009, vol. 150, pp. 1530–1540.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Zhang, S., Li, C., Cao, J., Zhang, Y., Zhang, S., Xia, Y., Sun, D., and Sun, Y., Altered architecture and enhanced drought tolerance in rice via the down-regulation of indole-3-acetic acid by TLD1/OsGH3.13 activation, Plant Physiol., 2009, vol. 151, pp. 1889–1901.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Schreiber, U. and Neubauer, C., O2-dependent electron flow, membrane energization and mechanism of non-photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence, Photosynth. Res., 1990, vol. 25, pp. 279–293.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Liu, Z. and Zhang, S., Physiology of Drought Resistance in Plants, Beijing: Agricultural Press China, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Jiang, Y. and Huang, B., Drought and heat stress injury to two cool-season turfgrasses in relation to antioxidant metabolism and lipid peroxidation, Crop Sci., 2001, vol. 41, pp. 436–442.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Zhang, L., Ma, G., Kato, M., Yamawaki, K., Takagi, T., Kiriiwa, Y., Ikoma, Y., Matsumoto, H., Yoshioka, T., and Nesumi, H., Regulation of carotenoid accumulation and the expression of carotenoid metabolic genes in citrus juice sacs in vitro, J. Exp. Bot., 2012, vol. 63, pp. 871–886.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Stavang, J., Pettersen, R., Wendell, M., Solhaug, K., Junttila, O., Moe, R., and Olsen, J., Thermoperiodic growth control by gibberellin does not involve changes in photosynthetic or respiratory capacities in pea, J. Exp. Bot., 2010, vol. 61, pp. 1015–1029.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Bast Fiber Crops and Center of Southern Economic Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha, 410205, China

    T. Liu, S. Zhu, L. Fu, Y. Yu, Q. Tang & S. Tang

Authors
  1. T. Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. L. Fu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Y. Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Q. Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. S. Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. Liu.

Additional information

This text was submitted by the authors in English.

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Liu, T., Zhu, S., Fu, L. et al. Morphological and physiological changes of ramie (Boehmeria nivea L. Gaud) in response to drought stress and GA3 treatment. Russ J Plant Physiol 60, 749–755 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S102144371306006X

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S102144371306006X

Keywords

Search

Navigation