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Protective Effect of Nitric Oxide against Oxidative Damage in Arabidopsis Leaves under Ultraviolet-B Irradiation

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Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) is a key molecule involved in many physiological processes. To characterize its roles in the tolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana to ultraviolet-B (UV-B), we investigated the effect of a reduced endogenous NO level on oxidative damage to wild-type and mutant (Atnoa1) plants. Under irradiation, hydrogen peroxide was accumulated more in mutant leaves than in the wild type. However, the amounts of UV-B-absorbing compounds (flavonoids and anthocyanin) and the activities of two antioxidant enzymes—catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX, EC 1.11.1.11)—were lower in leaves of the former. Supplementing with sodium nitroprusside, an NO donor, could alleviate the oxidative damage to mutant leaves by increasing flavonoid and anthocyanin contents and enzyme activities. In comparison, \({\text{N}}^{\text{ $ \omega $ }} - {\text{nitro}} - l - {\text{arginine}}\), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, had the opposite effects on oxidation resistance in wild-type leaves. All these results suggest that nitric oxide acts as a signal for an active oxygen-scavenging system that protects plants from oxidative stress induced by UV-B irradiation.

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Abbreviations

APX:

ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

catalase

H2O2 :

hydrogen peroxide

LNNA:

\({\text{N}}^{\text{ $ \omega $ }} - {\text{nitro}} - l - {\text{arginine}}\)

MP:

membrane permeability

NO:

nitric oxide

NOS:

nitric oxide synthase

SNP:

sodium nitroprusside

UV-B:

ultraviolet-B

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Nigel M. Crawford for providing the Atnoa1 seeds. This work was supported by the National Key Basic Research Special Funds of China (Grant no. 2006CB100101) and the Key Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Normal University (Grant no. L2007Z08).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular Cell Biology, School of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050016, China

    Shuo Zhou, Yi Xuan, Miao Sun & Liqun Zhao

  2. Hebei Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050016, China

    Liqun Zhao

  3. School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Lingang Zhang & Liqun Zhao

  4. Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Lingang Zhang

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  1. Lingang Zhang
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  2. Shuo Zhou
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  3. Yi Xuan
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  4. Miao Sun
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Correspondence to Liqun Zhao.

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Zhang, L., Zhou, S., Xuan, Y. et al. Protective Effect of Nitric Oxide against Oxidative Damage in Arabidopsis Leaves under Ultraviolet-B Irradiation. J. Plant Biol. 52, 135–140 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12374-009-9013-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12374-009-9013-2

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