Polyamines and ethylene metabolisms and antioxidative defense system induction in two maize genotypes contrasting in salinity tolerance

• Autor(a) principal: ValdinÃia Soares Freitas
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFC
• Texto Completo: http://www.teses.ufc.br/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=15060
• topic: Poliaminas; ProduÃÃo bifÃsica de etileno; Salinidade; Sistema antioxidativo; Zea mays; Biphasic ethylene production; Polyamine; Salinity; Antioxidant system; BIOQUIMICA

Polyamines and ethylene have been cited as important regulators of plant growth and development, and may be involved in plant defense against several abiotic stresses, such as salinity. To withstand with salt harmful effects, plants respond through a coordinated set of physiological and molecular responses to improve their performance under salinity. In order to test the hypothesis that salt tolerance degree in maize genotypes is related to changes in polyamine metabolism associated with ethylene production, two experiments were performed. In the first one, BR5033 (salt-tolerant) and BR5011 (salt-sensitive) maize genotypes were subjected to 80 mM NaCl stress to identify the pattern of ethylene production in leaves and roots. Two peaks of ethylene production at 5.5 h (phase I) and 12.5 h (phase II) after onset the salinity treatment were registered in salt-sensitive leaves; whereas only the first peak of ethylene synthesis was detected in salt-tolerant leaves. Surprisingly, the biphasic ethylene production in roots was much less pronounced than in leaves. In the second experiment, we sought to investigate whether the phases I and II of ethylene production alter the polyamine metabolism in the leaves of maize genotypes. In salt-tolerant genotype, the phase I of ethylene synthesis was associated with signaling events, as evidenced by increased H2O2 levels, which were generated by putrescine (Put) catabolism. An early signaling (at 5.5 h) in the salt-tolerant genotype seemed to be effective to suppress the second peak of ethylene production, known as âstress ethyleneâ. Yet, in the salt-sensitive genotype, the decreased H2O2 concentration during the phase I was associated with a marked increase in ethylene production, which was resulted from upregulation of acid 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase (ACO) activity and ZmACO5 gene expression. At the phase I, the total polyamine content was increased by salinity in the salt-tolerant, whereas it was decreased in the salt-sensitive one. In the salt-tolerant genotype, the increased total polyamine was sustained by high spermine (Spm) and spermidine (Spd) contents, while the decay in the salt-sensitive genotype was due to the reductions of Put and Spd forms. Otherwise, in the phase II, no significant changes in the total polyamines in salt-tolerant genotype (it was likely due to conversion of Put to Spm/Spd), and decreases in salt-sensitive genotype were registered. Under stress conditions, the salinity-induced improvement of Spd and Spm (free and soluble conjugated forms) in salt-tolerant genotype was bigger than in salt-sensitive one, thus suggesting a key role of polyamines in the maize salt stress acclimation processes. Finally, we investigated if the lack of ethylene production during phase II in salt-tolerant genotype was correlated to improved antioxidant capacity. Salt stress dramatically increased the superoxide levels, the electrolyte leakage and lipid peroxidation, it being more pronounced in both leaves and roots of salt-sensitive genotype. On the other hand, under salinity, salt-tolerant genotype displayed a better performance of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant system, evidenced by a higher ascorbate and glutathione content and upregulation of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase and guaiacol peroxidase activity. In conclusion, our results suggest that the ethylene is intimately involved in salt stress acclimation through activation of intricate signaling pathways mediated by H2O2 that is originated from polyamine catabolism. An efficient signal network raises the polyamine content and antioxidant capacity and is responsible, at least in part, for greater tolerance to salinity of BR5033 maize genotype.