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Foliar application of 24-epibrassinolide alleviates high-temperature-induced inhibition of photosynthesis in seedlings of two melon cultivars

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Photosynthetica

Abstract

Brassinosteroids (BRs), an important class of plant steroidal hormones, play a significant role in the amelioration of various biotic and abiotic stresses. 24-epibrassinolide (EBR), an active brassinosteroid, was applied exogenously in different concentrations to characterize a role of BRs in tolerance of melon (Cucumis melo L.) to high temperature (HT) stress and to investigate photosynthetic performance of HT-stressed, Honglvzaocui (HT-tolerant) and Baiyuxiang (HTsensitive), melon variety. Under HT, Honglvzaocui showed higher biomass accumulation and a lower index of heat injury compared with the Baiyuxiang. The exogenous application of 1.0 mg L−1 EBR, the most effective concentration, alleviated dramatically the growth suppression caused by HT in both ecotypes. Similarly, EBR pretreatment of HTstressed plants attenuated the decrease in relative chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, stomatal limitation, and water-use efficiency (WUE), as well as the maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm), the efficiency of excitation capture of open PSII center, the effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (ΦPSII), photochemical quenching coefficient, and the photon activity distribution coefficients of PSI (α). EBR pretreatment further inhibited the increase in intracellular CO2 concentration, leaf transpiration rate, minimal fluorescence of dark-adapted state, nonphotochemical quenching, thermal dissipation, and photon activity distribution coefficients of PSII. Results obtained here demonstrated that EBR could alleviate the detrimental effects of HT on the plant growth by improving photosynthesis in leaves, mainly reflected as up-regulation of photosynthetic pigment contents and photochemical activity associated with PSI.

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Abbreviations

BRs:

brassinosteroids

C i :

intracellular CO2 concentration

Chl:

chlorophyll

D:

fraction of absorbed light used in thermal dissipation in PSII antennae

E :

transpiration rate

EBR:

24-epibrassinolide

Fo :

minimal fluorescence of dark-adapted state

Fo′:

minimal fluorescence of light -adapted state

Fm :

the maximal fluorescence of dark-adapted state

Fm′:

maximal fluorescence of light-adapted state

Fs :

steady-state fluorescence

Fv/Fm :

maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry

Fv′/Fm′:

efficiency of excitation capture of open PSII center

g s :

stomatal conductance

Ls :

stomatal limitation

NPQ:

nonphotochemical quenching

P:

fraction of absorbed light that is utilized in PSII photochemistry

P N :

net photosynthetic rate

PPFD:

photosynthetic photon flux density

qP :

photochemical quenching coefficient

Rubisco:

ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

SD:

standard deviation

WUE:

water-use efficiency

X:

fraction of absorbed light that was neither used in photochemistry nor dissipated in PSII antenna

ΦPSII :

effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry

α:

photon activity distribution coefficients of PSI

β:

the photon activity distribution coefficients of PSII

β/α-1:

the relative deviation from full balance between the two photosystems

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Horticultural Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 201106, China

    Y. P. Zhang, S. J. Yang & Y. Y. Chen

  2. Shanghai Key Lab of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai, 201106, China

    Y. P. Zhang, H. D. Ding, S. J. Yang & Y. Y. Chen

  3. College of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    X. H. Zhu

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  1. Y. P. Zhang
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Correspondence to Y. Y. Chen.

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Acknowledgements: We are grateful for the funding supported by the Shanghai Prosper Agriculture by Science and Technology Plan, China (Grant No. 2009-2-1) and the Open Fund of Shanghai Key Lab of Protected Horticultural Technology.

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Zhang, Y.P., Zhu, X.H., Ding, H.D. et al. Foliar application of 24-epibrassinolide alleviates high-temperature-induced inhibition of photosynthesis in seedlings of two melon cultivars. Photosynthetica 51, 341–349 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-013-0031-4

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