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Osmoregulation as a key factor in drought hardening-induced drought tolerance in Jatropha curcas

  • Original Papers
  • Published:
Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

Jatropha curcas L. is a plant with various commercial uses, and drought is an important limiting factor for its distribution and production. In this study, we investigated the role of drought hardening in an increased drought tolerance in J. curcas, and the involvement of osmoregulation and biochemical pathways in this enhanced tolerance. Results show that a drought hardening treatment with 10 % (m/v) polyethylene glycol 6000 for two days significantly increased a survival rate, decreased the content of malondialdehyde, and alleviated electrolyte leakage in the J. curcas seedlings under the drought stress. Measurements of leaf water potential, osmotic potential, and pressure potential show that this drought hardening treatment can improve the water status of J. curcas seedlings during the early phase of drought stress. In addition, the drought hardening treatment gradually increased the concentrations of compatible solutes proline, glycinebetaine, and soluble sugars during drought hardening and subsequent drought stress. It also clearly raised the activity of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase, a key enzyme for the glycinebataine biosynhthesis as well as the activity of enzymes Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS), glutamate dehydrogenase, arginase, and ornithine aminotransferase, all key enzymes in the proline biosynthesis. The expression of P5CS gene in the J. curcas seedlings also increased during drought hardening and subsequent drought stress, but the activity of proline dehydrogenase decreased. These results show that the drought hardening treatment can enhance drought tolerance in J. curcas, and osmoregulation is a key factor in this increased drought tolerance.

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Abbreviations

BADH:

betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase

GDH:

glutamate dehydrogenase

MDA:

malondialdehyde

OAT:

ornithine aminotransferase

P5CS:

Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase

PEG 6000:

polyethylene glycol 6000

ProDH:

proline dehydrogenase

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Engineering Research Center of Sustainable Development and Utilization of Biomass Energy, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Environmental Biotechnology, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650500, P.R. China

    S. L. Yang, K. Chen, S. S. Wang & M. Gong

  2. College of Resources and Environment, Baoshan College, Baoshan, 678000, P.R. China

    K. Chen

Authors
  1. S. L. Yang
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  2. K. Chen
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  3. S. S. Wang
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  4. M. Gong
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Gong.

Additional information

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31260169 and 31460059). The first two authors contributed equally to this paper.

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Yang, S.L., Chen, K., Wang, S.S. et al. Osmoregulation as a key factor in drought hardening-induced drought tolerance in Jatropha curcas . Biol Plant 59, 529–536 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-015-0509-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-015-0509-y

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