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Differential antioxidation activities in two alfalfa cultivars under chilling stress

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Abstract

To understand the adaptability of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) to chilling stress, we analyzed the antioxidative mechanism during seed germination. The germination rates of six alfalfa cultivars were studied comparatively at 10°C. Xinmu No. 1 and Northstar were selected as chilling stress-tolerant and stress-sensitive cultivars for further characterization. After chilling treatment, Xinmu No. 1 showed higher seedling growth than Northstar. Xinmu No. 1 exhibited low levels of hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation compared with Northstar. In addition, shoots in Xinmu No. 1 treated with chilling showed higher activities of the superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase than those of Northstar, whereas Xinmu No. 1 showed higher APX activity in roots that Northstar. These results indicated that high antioxidation activity in Xinmu No. 1 under chilling stress is well associated with tolerance to chilling condition during germination.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Project of Knowledge Innovation Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX3-SW-444), the Plan for Outstanding Personnel of Northwest A & F University, National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB118604), The Korea Foundation for International Cooperation of Science and Technology (KICOS), MEST, and KRIBB Initiative Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Xinong Road No. 26, 712100, Yangling, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Wen-Bin Wang & Xi-Ping Deng

  2. Enviromental Biotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 111 Gwahangno, Yusong-gu, 305-806, Daejeon, Korea

    Yun-Hee Kim, Haeng-Soon Lee & Sang-Soo Kwak

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  1. Wen-Bin Wang
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  2. Yun-Hee Kim
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  3. Haeng-Soon Lee
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  4. Xi-Ping Deng
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  5. Sang-Soo Kwak
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Correspondence to Xi-Ping Deng or Sang-Soo Kwak.

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Wang, WB., Kim, YH., Lee, HS. et al. Differential antioxidation activities in two alfalfa cultivars under chilling stress. Plant Biotechnol Rep 3, 301–307 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-009-0102-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-009-0102-y

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