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Nitric oxide treatment alleviates drought stress in wheat seedlings

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Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

The effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP; nitric oxide donor) treatment on drought stress induced by PEG for different periods of time in wheat seedlings were investigated. Our results suggested that treatment for 2, 4 and 6 d with 15 % PEG could be termed as mild, moderate and severe stress, respectively. Drought stress induced accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and resulted in lipid peroxidation. On the other hand, activities of SOD, CAT and PAL increased under mild stress to counteract the oxidative injury and then decreased when the stress became severe (6 d). As the effect of SNP treatment, 0.2 mM enhanced wheat seedlings growth and kept high relative water content and alleviated the oxidative damage. However, 2 mM SNP aggravated the stress as a result of uncontrolled generation of reactive oxygen species and ineffectiveness of antioxidant systems.

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Abbreviations

AsA:

ascorbic acid

APX:

ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

catalase

EDTA:

ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid

GPX:

guaiacol peroxidase

H2O2 :

hydrogen peroxide

PAL:

L-phenylalanine ammonia lyase

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

RWC:

relative water content

SNP:

sodium nitroprusside

SOD:

superoxide dimutase

TBARS:

thiobarburic acid reacting substance

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Correspondence to Y. Lei.

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Tian, X., Lei, Y. Nitric oxide treatment alleviates drought stress in wheat seedlings. Biol Plant 50, 775–778 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-006-0129-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-006-0129-7

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