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Ethylene antagonizes the inhibition of germination in Arabidopsis induced by salinity by modulating the concentration of hydrogen peroxide

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Abstract

The capacity of plants to achieve successful germination and early seedling establishment under high salinity is crucial for tolerance of plants to salt. The gaseous hormone ethylene has been implicated in modulating salt tolerance, but the detailed role of how ethylene modulates the response of early seedling establishment to salt is unclear. To better understand the role of the ethylene signal transduction pathway during germination and seedling establishment, an ethylene insensitive mutation (ein2-5) and an ethylene sensitive mutation (ctr1-1) of Arabidopsis were analyzed under saline conditions and compared with the wild type plant (Col-0) as control. High salinity (>100 mM NaCl) inhibited and delayed germination. These effects were more severe in the ethylene insensitive mutants (ein2-5) and less severe in the constitutive ethylene sensitive plants (ctr1-1) compared with Col-0 plants. Addition of the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) or inhibitors of ethylene action implied that ethylene was essential for early seedling establishment under normal and saline conditions. Salt stress increased the endogenous concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in germinating seeds and ACC reduced its concentration. Our results suggest that ethylene promotes germination under salinity by modulating the endogenous concentration of H2O2 in germinating seeds. These findings demonstrate that ethylene is involved in regulating germination as an initiator of the process rather than consequence, and that ethylene promotes germination by modulating the endogenous concentration of H2O2 in germinating seeds under salinity.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

ACC:

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid

AIB:

Aminoisobutyric acid

CTR:

Constitutive triple response

EIL:

EIN3-like

EIN:

Ethylene insensitive

ERF:

Ethylene-responsive factor

ERS:

Ethylene response sensor

ETR:

Ethylene response

FW:

Fresh weight

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

PAR:

Photosynthetically active radiation

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Hongwei Guo for constructive suggestions on the present work and National Natural Science Foundation of China (31000176) for funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China

    Yingchao Lin, Jiajia Wang, Yuangang Zu & Zhonghua Tang

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  1. Yingchao Lin
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  2. Jiajia Wang
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  4. Zhonghua Tang
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Correspondence to Zhonghua Tang.

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Communicated by S. Weidner.

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Lin, Y., Wang, J., Zu, Y. et al. Ethylene antagonizes the inhibition of germination in Arabidopsis induced by salinity by modulating the concentration of hydrogen peroxide. Acta Physiol Plant 34, 1895–1904 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-012-0989-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-012-0989-8

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