Regulation of Nitric Oxide on the Aging Process of Wheat Leaves

When the first fully expanded leaf of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings with two leaves were treated with different concentrations (0.05, 0.10, 0.20 and 0.50 mmol/L) of nitric oxide donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), the contents of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were reduced by the lower concentrations (0.05, 0.10 and 0.20 mmol/L), but enhanced by the higher concentration of SNP (0.50 mmol/L). The protective effect of 0.10 mmol/L SNP was the most obvious. Furthermore, the treatment with 0.10 mmol/L SNP on the above seedlings until the fourth leaves were fully expanded attenuated the accumulation of H2O2, superoxide anion radical (O-2(-)) and MDA, also counteracted the degradation of chlorophyll and soluble proteins, especally Rubisco, both leading to the effective delay of aging process in wheat leaves. The effects of different SNP concentrations (0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.50, 1.00 and 5.00 mmol/L) also displayed a dual role in an aging experiment of chloroplasts in vitro, one of which, 0.2 mmol/L SNP treatment, protected the membrane structure and attenuated the degradation of Rubisco effectively. Based on the present results, it was inferred that lower concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) might play a role in delaying aging process in wheat leaves, i.e., might attribute to decrease the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the alleviation of further oxidative damage caused by ROS.

Effects of Rare Earth on Oxidative Damage and Redox System of Wheat Seedling Leaves under Water Stress

After treated with low concentration of La^3 ＋ , the rate of producing active oxygen free radical, the relative permeability of cell membrane, the contents of bivalent iron ion in wheat seedling leaves under water stress were determined. The results show that in wheat seedling leaves, feasible concentrations of La^3 ＋ decreases the accumulation of active oxygen free radical, inhibits the increase of the relative permeability of cell membrane, reduces the content of peroxidation product MDA of membrane lipid, and prevents the plant cell producing more bivalent iron ion which can catalyzed the reaction of Haber-weiss and Fenton to produce more superoxide anion. In addition, purified plasma membrane was isolated by aqueous two-phase partitioning from wheat seedling leaves. The reduction rate of Fe（CN）6^3- by purified plasma membrane in La^3＋ -treated wheat seedling leaves is different from those in the absence of La^3＋ under water stress. The changing trend of the redox activity to La^3＋ is similar to that of the content of Fe^2＋ . The results reveal that extraneous La^3＋ can alleviate the damages of cell membrane caused by water stress via promoting the activity of redox system and the ability of eliminating ROS in wheat seedling leaves.

Ultrasonic Acoustic Emissions from Leaf Xylem of Potted Wheat Subject to a Soil Drought and Rewatering Cycle

Ultrasonic acoustic emissions （AEs） from leaf xylem of both water stressed and well watered potted winter wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） plants during drought and rewatering cycle were investigated with a ‘PCI-2 Based AE System＇ （Physical Acoustics Corp. New Jersey, USA） for estimation of leaf xylem cavitation and embolism. Very few AEs occurred in xylem of wheat leaves in well-watered plant, and also in plant subject to mild and moderate soil water stress conditions over the first 4 d of the drought cycle. Great amounts of AEs have occurred since d 5 of the drought cycle as plant showed obvious leaf curling, indicating significant cavitation in leaf xylem on plant exposed to severe soil water deficit. At this point, relative soil water content （RSWC） and leaf xylem pressure （ψ1） dropped to 24.0-26.5% and -1.92 MPa, respectively, with reductions in leaf stomatal conductance （gs）, leaf transpiration （Tr） and leaf CO2 assimilation rate （A） of as much as 69.8, 60.7 and 46.5%, respectively. The effect of soil water deficit was in the order gs 〉 Tr 〉 A 〉 AE. Waveform physical property parameters such as amplitude, counts, rise time, duration, absolute energy and signal strength were analyzed. These parameters varied within very broad ranges, with frequency distribution of most parameters being well fitted by the exponential function y = yo- A exp （-x/t）. The proportion of stronger AE signals rose as soil dehydrated. While AEs occurrence in water stressed plant remained higher than in well-watered control at the following day after rewatering, waveform signal strength and related physical property parameters dropped immediately to that of control. Difference in AEs occurrence characterization between field-grown and potted wheat leaves was discussed.