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Foliar-applied salicylic acid alleviates heat and high light stress induced photoinhibition in wheat (Triticum aestivum) during the grain filling stage by modulating the psbA gene transcription and antioxidant defense

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Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effects of foliar applied salicylic acid (SA) on protecting wheat (Triticum aestivum) from heat and high light stress during the grain filling stage. Specifically, the Photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry of wheat flag leaves under the treatment of SA was studied as indicators for stress response. Our results indicated that under stress, SA-supplemented wheat plants maintained higher chlorophyll content, photochemical activity of PSII, and net photosynthetic rate in comparison to non-SA treated plants, and, in addition, the SA-supplemented plants recovered more rapidly from photoinhibition when the stress was removed. SA-treated plants inhibited the decrease of the psbA gene transcription that is caused by stress and then recovered to the original control level after the stress was removed. In addition, foliar supplementation of SA could maintain or elevate the activities of antioxidative enzymes, including superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, and catalase, which are known to provide protection against oxidative stress for wheat crops. Taken together, our results suggest that foliar application of SA can protect the PSII complex from photo-damage through enhanced transcription of the psbA gene (encoding D1 protein), as well as through mitigating photo-oxidation enabled by a high level of anti-oxidative enzyme activities, which allows for faster functional recovery of PSII from heat and high light stress.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

One-way analysis of variance

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

Catalase

C T :

Cycle threshold

EDTA:

Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid

ETR :

Electron transfer rate of PSII

FM:

Fresh weight

Fm :

Maximal fluorescence

Fo :

Initial fluorescence

Fv :

Variable fluorescence in dark-adapted leaves

Fv/Fm :

The ratio of variable to maximum chlorophyll fluorescence

Fv/Fo :

The ratio of variable to initial chlorophyll fluorescence

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

NBT:

Nitro blue tetrazolium

Pn :

Net photosynthetic rate

PPFD:

Photosynthetic photon flux density

PSII:

Photosystem II

PVP:

Polyvinylpyrrolidone

ROS:

Reactive oxygen

SA:

Salicylic acid

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

TBA:

Thiobarbituric acid

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31000688) and the Education Department of Henan Province (Grant No. 13A210487).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, 63 Nongye Rd., Zhengzhou, 450002, Henan Province, China

    Yuexia Wang, Huanling Zhang, Pengfei Hou, Xiaoyu Su, Pengfei Zhao, Huijie Zhao & Shuchun Liu

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  1. Yuexia Wang
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  2. Huanling Zhang
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  3. Pengfei Hou
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  4. Xiaoyu Su
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  5. Pengfei Zhao
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Correspondence to Yuexia Wang or Huijie Zhao.

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Wang, Y., Zhang, H., Hou, P. et al. Foliar-applied salicylic acid alleviates heat and high light stress induced photoinhibition in wheat (Triticum aestivum) during the grain filling stage by modulating the psbA gene transcription and antioxidant defense. Plant Growth Regul 73, 289–297 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-014-9889-9

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