Abiotic stresses induce phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) expression in C3 plants which suggests PEPC function in plant adaptation to stresses. Here, we studied the response of photosynthesis to short-term drought stress in rice seedlings overexpressing C4 PEPC from maize and millet. The transgenic lines exhibited 1.2-5.5 fold of PEPC activities than the wild type before the treatment, while 1.5-8.5 fold after five or ten days of water deficit. Net photosynthetic rate (P N) declined less during the water stress and recovered more after rewatering in the transgenic lines. These changes were accompanied with changes in the stomatal conductance (g s). The lower decrease in P N and g s resulted in significantly higher intrinsic water use efficiency in the transgenic rice lines after ten days of water withdrawal. There were no significant differences between the wild type and transgenic lines in maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII and photochemical quenching. The nonphotochemical quenching and the quantum efficiency of PSII maintained both higher in transgenic lines than those in the wild type during drought stress. This indicated that the transgenic lines could dissipate more excess energy to heat to protect PSII. Our result suggested that the increased PEPC activities in rice could alleviate the decrease of photosynthesis during short-term drought stress., Z. S. Ding, X. F. Sun, S. H. Huang, B. Y. Zhou, M. Zhao., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Flooding stress (FS) induced changes in pigment and protein contents and in photochemical efficiency of thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts were investigated during senescence of primary leaves of rice seedlings. Leaf senescence was accompanied by loss in 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP) photoreduction, rate of oxygen evolution, quantum yield of photosystem 2 with an increase in MDA accumulation, and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of chlorophyll fluorescence. These changes were further aggravated when the leaves during this period experienced FS. The increase in NPQ value under stress may indicate photosynthetic adaptation to FS. and S. K. Mishra ... [et al.].
Morphological and ultrastructural changes, the chlorophyll (Chl) content and Chl a fluorescence induction were studied in primary leaves of runner beán plants (Phaseolus coccineus L. cv. Pi?kny Jaš) grown in Knop solution and treated with excess Cu [20 g(CuS04 x 5 H2O) m"^] at difíerent growth stages. The plants were exposed to the metal for 12 d. Cu added to the nutrient solution at the beginning growth stage induced significant leaf area reduction (31 %) as well as increase of Chl accumulation (148 %) and leaf density (122 %). No ultrastructural changes of chloroplasts were seen. Application of Cu at the advanced growth stage caused relatively smáli changes except local disturbances in stroma lamellae and leaf reduction to 70 % of control. Significant disorganization of chloroplast ultrastructure, smáli leaf area reduction (80 %) but specific leaf area increase (163 %) and leaf density decrease (67 %) were seen only in the primary leaves of plants treated with Cu at the finál stage of growth. These changes, similar to senescence response, were accompanied by Fy/Fo ratio decrease to 67 % in comparison with control.
Plants cultivated on acid soils that contain toxic levels of Al3+ usually produce low yields. A multi-factorial treatment of gypsum (G), boron (B), and limestone (Lm) was applied to such soil in order to determine the biochemical basis of the best management plan for ameliorating the soil acidity for sustainable growth of alfalfa. The alfalfa shoots were subjected to analysis for hexose, protein, nucleotide, and chlorophyll (Chl) contents, fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) activity, and the RNA synthetic activity of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH). Hexose and protein contents of control alfalfa without B and G, but with Lm (672 g m-2) amendment were 0.87 and 38.30 g, respectively, per kg shoot. Increasing the G doses at fixed moderate doses of 0.15 and 0.30 g m-2 B decreased the FBPase activity by ∼53 and ∼31 %, respectively. However, increasing the B doses at higher fixed G (1 kg m-2= G1.0) increased the FBPase activity by ∼91 % thus indicating that G1 optimized the saccharide metabolism by neutralizing the soil acidity. In the absence of B, increasing the G doses also maximized the hexose and Chl contents, but minimized the nucleotide amount. In the absence of G, increasing the B doses maximized the RNA synthetic activity of GDH, but lowered the hexose and Chl contents as well as the FBPase activity without affecting the protein contents, thereby permitting the selection of B (0.45 g m-2) with Lm as the best amendment for the sustainable growth of alfalfa. Treatment with 0.45 g B and 0.5 kg G (= G0.5) induced the strongest B-Ca antagonism by maximizing the hexose and Chl contents but severely suppressing the FBPase activity and the RNA synthetic activity of GDH. Therefore, the coordinate optimization of saccharide metabolism through the G-dependent neutralization of soil acidity, and of RNA metabolism through the B-dependent detoxification of Al3+ are the biochemical options for the mitigation of the adverse effects of soil acidity for the optimization of sustainable alfalfa production. and G. O. Osuji ... [et al.].
Five-year-old plants of two olive cultivars (Frantoio and Moraiolo) grown in large pots were exposed for 7 to 8 months to ambient (AC) or elevated (EC) CO2 concentration in a free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) facility. Exposure to EC enhanced net photosynthetic rate (PN) and decreased stomatal conductance, leading to greater instantaneous transpiration efficiency. Stomata density also decreased under EC, while the ratio of intercellular (Ci) to atmospheric CO2 concentration and chlorophyll content did not differ, except for the cv. Moraiolo after seven months of exposure to EC. Analysis of the relationship between photosynthesis and Ci indicated no significant change in carboxylation efficiency of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase after five months of exposure to EC. Based on estimates derived from the PN-Ci relationship, there were no apparent treatment differences in daytime respiration, CO2 compensation concentration, CO2-saturated photosynthetic rate, or photosynthetic rate at the mean Ci, but there was a reduction in stomata limitation to PN at EC. Thus 5-year-old olive trees did not exhibit down regulation of leaf-level photosynthesis in their response to EC, though some indication of adjustment was evident for the cv. Frantoio with respect to the cv. Moraiolo. and R. Tognetti ... [et al.].
During the growth cycle of micropropagated Juglans regia plantlets, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) activity was aiways higher than initial ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCO) activity. The ratio of PEPC/RuBPCO activities was higher during the first part of the exponential phase of growth and lower during the second part. The variations of PEPC activity were parallel to the soluble protein content and the variations of initial and total RuBPCO activities were parallel to the chlorophyll accumulation.
Wheat provides a unique genetic system in which variable sink size is available across the ploidies. We characterized monocarpic senescence in diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid wheat species in flag leaf from anthesis up to full grain maturity at regular intervals. Triticum tauschii Acc. cv. EC-331751 showed the fastest rate of senescence among the species studied and the rate of loss per day was highest in terms of photosynthesis rate, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCO) content, and flag leaf N content coupled with a higher rate of gain in grain N content. Cultivars Kundan and HD 4530 maintained high flag leaf N content throughout grain filling as compared to the diploids and showed a slower rate of senescence. RuBPCO content was higher in the diploids as compared to Kundan and HD 4530 at anthesis. However, the rate of decline in RuBPCO content per day was also higher in the diploids. This degradation in RuBPCO was mediated by high endoproteolytic activities in the diploids which in turn supported its higher rate of N mobilization as compared to the tetraploid and hexaploid wheat. Acidic endopeptidases were responsible for the mobilization of flag leaf nitrogen in wheat across ploidy levels (r=-0.582, p<0.01). and B. Srivalli, R. Khanna-Chopra.
We analyzed the response of potted strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) seedlings exposed to water stress by withholding water for 10 d (WS). Leaf water potential, net CO2 assimilation, and stomatal conductance decreased with increasing water deficit. A 30 % reduction of chlorophyll (Chl) content in the antenna complexes was observed in WS-plants. Simultaneously, a decline of photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) occurred as a result of an excess of solar radiation energy when carbon assimilation was limited by stomata closure due to soil water deficit. The non-photochemical quenching of Chl fluorescence (ΦNPQ) significantly increased, as well as the leaf contents of zeaxanthin (Z) and antheraxanthin (A) at the expense of violaxanthin during the WS-period. Elevated predawn contents of de-epoxidized xanthophyll cycle components were associated with a sustained lowering of predawn photosystem 2 efficiency; this suggested an engagement of Z+A in a state primed for energy dissipation. Thus, the ability of strawberry trees to maintain the functionality of the xanthophyll cycle during the Mediterranean summer is an efficient mechanism to prevent irreversible damages to the photosynthetic machinery through thermal energy dissipation in the antenna and the reduction in photochemical efficiency. and R. Baraldi ... [et al.].
Aqueous solutions of salicylic acid (SA) were applied to the foliage of 30-d-old plants of mustard (Brassica juncea Czern & Coss cv. Varuna). The plants sprayed with the lowest used concentration (10-5 M) of SA were healthier than those sprayed with water only or with higher concentrations of SA (10-4 or 10-3 M). 60-d-old plants possessed 8.4, 9.8, 9.3, 13.0 and 18.5 % larger dry mass, net photosynthetic rate, carboxylation efficiency, and activities of nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase over the control, respectively. Moreover, the number of pods and the seed yield increased by 13.7 and 8.4 % over the control. and Q. Fariduddin, S. Hayat, A. Ahmad.
The seasonal changes of photosynthesis of cones of Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi Carr.) trees showed that gross photosynthetic rate of young cones (G) was 2-3 µmol m-2 s-1 at surface area unit and PG / RD (dark respiration of cones) peaked about 0.7 in the same period, indicating that 70 % of respiratory CO2 was re-fixed. With maturation, PG and PG / RD sharply decreased. Chlorophyll content in cones was 3-20 % of that in leaves, which made it a limiting factor for photosynthesis and its content was closely correlated with photosynthetic capacity. Although sunken and linearly arranged stomatal organs were found on the scale of young cones, differently from the significant regulation of leaf photosynthesis, these stomata tended to be non-functional since CO2 is not limiting factor for cone photosynthesis. Thus photosynthesis of larch cones is an additional contribution to their development. and W.-J. Wang ... [et al.].