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A rapid response of β-amylase to nitric oxide but not gibberellin in wheat seeds during the early stage of germination

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Abstract

The effects of nitric oxide (NO) and gibberellic acid (GA3) on the responses of amylases in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seeds (caryopses) were investigated during the first 12 h of germination. GA3 had no effects on the activities of α-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) or β-amylase (EC 3.2.1.2), either in intact seeds or embryoless halves within 12 h. In contrast, addition of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an NO donor, was able to induce a rapid increase in β-amylase activity without affecting α-amylase. Furthermore, the rapid response of β-amylase to SNP in wheat seeds could be attributed to NO and was approximately dose-dependent. Some other aspects of SNP induction of amylase isozymes were also characterized. Further investigations showed that SNP might play an interesting role in the dissociation of free β-amylase from small homopolymers or heteropolymers. Furthermore, SNP also directly induced the release of bound β-amylase from glutenin and its crude enzyme preparation. However, the slight increase in protease also induced by SNP might not be responsible for this action. Interestingly, based on the fact that the rapid response of β-amylase to NO also existed in seeds of other species, such as barley, soybean, rice and watermelon, it might be a universal event in early seed germination.

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Fig. 1 a,b
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Abbreviations

cPTIO :

2-(4-Carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide

GA :

Gibberellin

GA3 :

Gibberellic acid

IEF :

Isoelectric focusing

2-ME :

2-Mercaptoethanol

NO :

Nitric oxide

PAGE :

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

PCMB :

p-Chloromercuribenzoate

SNP :

Sodium nitroprusside

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30471049), by a grant to Innovative Young Scholars of Jiangsu Province in China (No. BK2004417), and by Undergraduate’s Creative Projects in Colleges of Jiangsu Province (China; fellowship to H. Zhang).

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  1. College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, P.R. China

    Hua Zhang, Wen-Biao Shen, Wei Zhang & Lang-Lai Xu

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  1. Hua Zhang
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  2. Wen-Biao Shen
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  3. Wei Zhang
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  4. Lang-Lai Xu
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Correspondence to Wen-Biao Shen.

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Zhang, H., Shen, WB., Zhang, W. et al. A rapid response of β-amylase to nitric oxide but not gibberellin in wheat seeds during the early stage of germination. Planta 220, 708–716 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-004-1390-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-004-1390-7

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