Characterization and regeneration of salt- and water-stress mutants from protoplast culture of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia (Viviani)

Efficacies of designer biochars in improving biomass and nutrient uptake of winter wheat grown in a hard setting subsoil layer

In the Coastal Plains region of the United States, the hard setting subsoil layer of Norfolk soils results in low water holding capacity and nutrient retention, which often limits root development. In this region, the Norfolk soils are under intensive crop production that further depletes nutrients and reduces organic carbon (C). Incorporation of pyrolyzed organic residues or "biochars" can provide an alternative recalcitrant C source. However, biochar quality and effect can be inconsistent and different biochars react differently in soils. We hypothesized that addition of different designer biochars will have variable effects on biomass and nutrient uptake of winter wheat. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of designer biochars on biomass productivity and nutrient uptake of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in a Norfolk's hard setting subsoil layer. Biochars were added to Norfolk's hard setting subsoil layer at the rate of 40 Mg ha(-1). The different sources of biochars were: plant-based (pine chips, PC); animal-based (poultry litter, PL); 50:50 blend (50% PC:50% PL); 80:20 blend (80% PC:20% PL); and hardwood (HW). Aboveground and belowground biomass and nutrient uptake of winter wheat varied significantly (p⩽0.0001) with the different designer biochar applications. The greatest increase in the belowground biomass of winter wheat over the control was from 80:20 blend of PC:PL (81%) followed by HW (76%), PC (59%) and 50:50 blend of PC:PL (9%). However, application of PL resulted in significant reduction of belowground biomass by about 82% when compared to the control plants. The average uptake of P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Al, Fe, Cu and Zn in both the aboveground and belowground biomass of winter wheat varied remarkably with biochar treatments. Overall, our results showed promising significance for the treatment of a Norfolk's hard setting subsoil layer since designer biochars did improve both aboveground/belowground biomass and nutrient uptake of winter wheat.

Toxic effects induced by salt stress on selected freshwater prokaryotic and eukaryotic microalgal species

In order to determine the short-term impact induced by salt stress, cultures of Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides and Microcystis aeruginosa were grown in presence of increasing sea-salt concentrations. Growth rate and photosystem II activity in D. chlorelloides, and photosynthetic oxygen production (in both species) were analyzed. A concentration-dependent response was obtained with the presence of sea-salt in culture medium, being M. aeruginosa (EC(50(72)) = 76.6 mM) more sensitive to salt stress than D. chlorelloides (EC(50(72)) = 340.7 mM). However, comparative analysis between growth and Phi(PSII) inhibition in D. chlorelloides shown that there are not significant differences among EC(50(72)) values obtained. An immediate toxic response, induced by increase of sea-salt concentration, has been obtained applying the calculated EC(50(72)) values in both species. These results shown that sea-salt acts as a sensitive and rapid toxic compound in algal cells, and that the sensitivity of M. aeruginosa to salinity stress is much higher than that of D. chlorelloides.

Enhanced osmotolerance of a wheat mutant selected for potassium accumulation

A mutant of durum wheat was identified by screening a M4 population (sodium azide) for genotypes with enhanced capacity for potassium accumulation in leaves. The mutant (designated 422) was grown in field, controlled environment, hydroponic culture and NaCl salinized soil. Mutant 422 accumulates about 5 mg/g dry weight more K than the wild-type and is less salt sensitive, based on leaf growth and germination. During vegetative growth exists a specific tolerance of the 422 mutant to K(+) ion and a moderate tolerance to Cl(-) ion, in hydroponic culture. Under severe stress imposed by salts and mannitol, the mutant germinates better than wild type (WT). In soil containing increasing NaCl, mutant 422 had higher potassium amount than WT, but did not show augmented capacity to concentrate the ion in the leaves as salt stress increased. The capability to accumulate potassium could improve tissue hydration, because water content of 422 leaves was greater than WT and increased linearly in relation to leaf K(+) concentration.

In situ and in vitro senescence induced by KCl stress: nutritional imbalance, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant metabolism

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. cv. SH222) plants and calli were exposed to KCl stress for three weeks. Calli were more tolerant to KCl than plants. KCl stress decreased NO(-)(3), Mn, Fe and B levels in whole plants and P, Ca and Mg in shoots. NO(-)(3), P, Ca, Mg, Mn, and B levels decreased in 100 mM-stressed calli. Chlorophyll content, F:(m) and (F:(m)-F:(0))/F:(m) ratio decreased in stressed leaves, while F:(0) increased only in leaves exposed to severe stress (100 and 150 mM). Membrane permeability and lipid peroxidation increased in plants under all stress conditions and in 100 and 150 mM stressed calli, but remained unchanged in 25 mM stressed calli. Salt stress also induced changes relating to antioxidant enzymes: plants under all stress conditions showed a decrease in catalase, peroxidase and SOD activities. Calli under moderate stress (25 mM KCl) showed an increase of catalase, peroxidase and SOD activities, but the activities of peroxidase and SOD decreased when calli were exposed to higher KCl concentrations. The decrease of antioxidant enzyme activities is in tune with lipid peroxidation and membrane permeability increases. On the other hand, calli adapted for 6 months to 100 mM KCl showed an increase of these enzyme activities compared to unstressed calli, while MDA production and membrane permeability were not significantly affected.

Ionic and osmotic effects of NaCl-induced inactivation of photosystems I and II in Synechococcus sp

We report here that osmotic effects and ionic effects are both involved in the NaCl-induced inactivation of the photosynthetic machinery in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942. Incubation of the cyanobacterial cells in 0.5 M NaCl induced a rapid and reversible decline and subsequent slow and irreversible loss of the oxygen-evolving activity of photosystem (PS) II and the electron transport activity of PSI. An Na(+)-channel blocker protected both PSII and PSI against the slow, but not the rapid, inactivation. The rapid decline resembled the effect of 1.0 M sorbitol. The presence of both an Na(+)-channel blocker and a water-channel blocker protected PSI and PSII against the short- and long-term effects of NaCl. Salt stress also decreased cytoplasmic volume and this effect was enhanced by the Na(+)-channel blocker. Our observations suggested that NaCl had both osmotic and ionic effects. The osmotic effect decreased the amount of water in the cytosol, rapidly increasing the intracellular concentration of salts. The ionic effect was caused by an influx of Na(+) ions through potassium/Na(+) channels that also increased concentrations of salts in the cytosol and irreversibly inactivated PSI and PSII.

Genetic analysis of salt-tolerant mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana

Stress caused by the increased salinity of irrigated fields impairs plant growth and is one of the major constraints that limits crop productivity in many important agricultural areas. As a contribution to solving such agronomic problems, we have carried out a large-scale screening for Arabidopsis thaliana mutants induced on different genetic backgrounds by EMS treatment, fast neutron bombardment, or T-DNA insertions. From the 675,500 seeds we screened, 17 mutant lines were isolated, all but one of which yielded 25-70% germination levels on 250 mm NaCl medium, a condition in which their ancestor ecotypes are unable to germinate. Monogenic recessive inheritance of NaCl-tolerant germination was displayed with incomplete penetrance by all the selected mutants, which fell into five complementation groups. These were named SALOBRENO (SAN) and mapped relative to polymorphic microsatellites, the map positions of three of them suggesting that they are novel genes. Strains carrying mutations in the SAN1-SAN4 genes display similar responses to both ionic effects and osmotic pressure, their germination being NaCl and mannitol tolerant but KCl and Na(2)SO(4) sensitive. In addition, NaCl-, KCl-, and mannitol-tolerant as well as abscisic-acid-insensitive germination was displayed by sañ5, whose genetic and molecular characterization indicates that it carries an extremely hypomorphic or null allele of the ABI4 gene, its deduced protein product lacking the APETALA2 DNA binding domain.

Proline metabolism in the wild-type and in a salt-tolerant mutant of nicotiana plumbaginifolia studied by (13)C-nuclear magnetic resonance imaging

To obtain insight into the link between proline (Pro) accumulation and the increase in osmotolerance in higher plants, we investigated the biochemical basis for the NaCl tolerance of a Nicotiana plumbaginifolia mutant (RNa) that accumulates Pro. Pro biosynthesis and catabolism were investigated in both wild-type and mutant lines. (13)C-Nuclear magnetic resonance with [5-(13)C]glutamate (Glu) as the Pro precursor was used to provide insight into the mechanism of Pro accumulation via the Glu pathway. After 24 h under 200 mM NaCl stress in the presence of [5-(13)C]Glu, a significant enrichment in [5-(13)C]Pro was observed compared with non-stress conditions in both the wild type (P2) and the mutant (RNa). Moreover, under the same conditions, [5-(13)C]Pro was clearly synthesized in higher amounts in RNa than in P2. On the other hand, measurements of enzyme activities indicate that neither the biosynthesis via the ornithine pathway, nor the catabolism via the Pro oxidation pathway were affected in the RNa mutant. Finally, the regulatory effect exerted by Pro on its biosynthesis was evaluated. In P2 plantlets, exogenous Pro markedly reduced the conversion of [5-(13)C]Glu into [5-(13)C]Pro, whereas Pro feedback inhibition was not detected in the RNa plantlets. It is proposed that the origin of tolerance in the RNa mutant is due to a mutation leading to a substantial reduction of the feedback inhibition normally exerted in a wild-type (P2) plant by Pro at the level of the Delta-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase enzyme.

Isolation of the ornithine-delta-aminotransferase cDNA and effect of salt stress on its expression in Arabidopsis thaliana

To evaluate the relative importance of ornithine (Orn) as a precursor in proline (Pro) synthesis, we isolated and sequenced a cDNA encoding the Orn-delta-aminotransferase (delta-OAT) from Arabidopsis thaliana. The deduced amino acid sequence showed high homology with bacterial, yeast, mammalian, and plant sequences, and the N-terminal residues exhibited several common features with a mitochondrial transit peptide. Our results show that under both salt stress and normal conditions, delta-OAT activity and mRNA in young plantlets are slightly higher than in older plants. This appears to be related to the necessity to dispose of an easy recycling product, glutamate. Analysis of the expression of the gene revealed a close association with salt stress and Pro production. In young plantlets, free Pro content, Delta1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase mRNA, delta-OAT activity, and delta-OAT mRNA were all increased by salt-stress treatment. These results suggest that for A. thaliana, the Orn pathway, together with the glutamate pathway, plays an important role in Pro accumulation during osmotic stress. Conversely, in 4-week-old A. thaliana plants, although free Pro level also increased under salt-stress conditions, the delta-OAT activity appeared to be unchanged and delta-OAT mRNA was not detectable. Delta1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase mRNA was still induced at a similar level. Therefore, for the adult plants the free Pro increase seemed to be due to the activity of the enzymes of the glutamate pathway.

Salt tolerance in plants and microorganisms: toxicity targets and defense responses

Salt tolerance of crops could be improved by genetic engineering if basic questions on mechanisms of salt toxicity and defense responses could be solved at the molecular level. Mutant plants accumulating proline and transgenic plants engineered to accumulate mannitol or fructans exhibit improved salt tolerance. A target of salt toxicity has been identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: it is a sodium-sensitive nucleotidase involved in sulfate activation and encoded by the HAL2 gene. The major sodium-extrusion system of S. cerevisiae is a P-ATPase encoded by the ENA1 gene. The regulatory system of ENA1 expression includes the protein phosphatase calcineurin and the product of the HAL3 gene. In Escherichia coli, the Na(+)-H+ antiporter encoded by the nhaA gene is essential for salt tolerance. No sodium transport system has been identified at the molecular level in plants. Ion transport at the vacuole is of crucial importance for salt accumulation in this compartment, a conspicuous feature of halophytic plants. The primary sensors of osmotic stress have been identified only in E. coli. In S. cerevisiae, a protein kinase cascade (the HOG pathway) mediates the osmotic induction of many, but not all, stress-responsive genes. In plants, the hormone abscisic acid mediates many stress responses and both a protein phosphatase and a transcription factor (encoded by the ABI1 and ABI3 genes, respectively) participate in its action.