Free proline accumulation in rice plants under different leaf water potential

Seedlings of drought-tolerance rice varieties Han 501and Han A03,and the drought sensitive varietiesNanjing 11 and Yanjing 2 were raised in a paddyfield and transplanted into pots at the age of 8leaves.Water stress started at the tillering stage byholding water from 0 MPa of the soil water potentialin pots till the leaves showed seriously wilting.

Evaluation of cold resistance of ornamental species for planting as urban rooftop greening

Rooftop gardening or green roof establishment, one of the methods of afforestation for urban greening, has many benefits for the environment, the economy and urban landscapes. Various environmental stresses including heat, strong wind, sunshine and cold prevent most plants from growing well in extensive green roof systems. For the establishment of urban rooftop gardening in Beijing, we evaluated 13 ornamental plant species [Berberis thunbergii ‘Atropurea Nana’, Euonymus fortune （Turcz.） Hand., Viburnum dilatatum Thunb., Cotinus coggygria Scop., Swida alba Opiz., Weigela florida （Bunge.） A. DC., Jasminum nudiflorum Lindl., Euonymus japonicus Thunb., Euonymus japonicus ‘Cuzhi’, Buddleja davidii Franch., Pyracantha fortuneana （Maxim.） Li., Ligustrum lucidum Ait. and Spiraea salicifolia L.] for greening of flat rooftops. We obtained three indices concerning cold resistance, i.e., electrical conductivity of leaves, amounts of soluble sugars and amounts of free proline, providing a theoretical basis for selection of plants fit for roof and balcony greening. The results show that the six species P. fortuneana （Maxim.） Li., B. thunbergii ‘Atropurea Nana’, J. nudiflorum Lindl., E. fortune （Turcz.） Hand., E. japonicus Thunb. and E. japonicus ‘Cuzhi’ are excellent plants for rooftop gardening, judging from their strong ability in cold resistance. Plants such as L. lucidum Ait., C. coggygria Scop. and W. florida （Bunge） A. DC. showed a medium ability in cold resistance. However, these species can be used in roof and balcony greening after intensive management or acclimatization of variety. The ability to resist cold of plants such as W. florida （Bunge） A. DC., S. salicifolia L., V. rhytidophyllum and S. alba Opiz. （Cornus alba L.） was found to be rather weak. Therefore, cold-proof measures are recommended when using these species.

Stress Ameliorative Effects of Indole Acetic Acid on Hordeum vulgare L. Seedlings Subjected to Zinc Toxicity

The heavy metals present in the environment accumulate in the plants and affect their productivity and yield.By entering the food chain,metals cause several serious health problems in human beings as well as in other organisms.Indole acetic acid(IAA)is known to act as a signaling molecule between symbiotic association of metal accumulating plants and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria(PGPR).Present study demonstrated a protective role of IAA against surplus Zinc(Zn)-induced toxicity to Hordeum vulgare seedlings.Elevated Zn concentrations suppressed the plant growth,caused a reduction in leaf relative water contents(RWC)and elevated free proline and non-protein thiols(NPT)accumulation.Zinc treatment also led to enhanced lipid peroxidation(MDA contents)as well as the activity of ascorbate peroxidase(APX),showing the involvement of antioxidative defense mechanism to reduce Zn induced toxicity.IAA oxidase activity was also observed to increase due to Zn treatment.IAA pretreatment of H.vulgare caryopsis could partly revert the Zn-induced toxicity in seedlings.

Physiological response of riparian plants to watering in hyper-arid areas of Tarim River,China

The physiological responses and adaptive strate-gies of Populus euphratica Oliv.(arbor species),Tamarix ramosissima Ldb.(bush species),and Apocynum venetum L.(herb species)to variations in water and salinity stress were studied in the hyper-arid environment of the Tarim River in China.The groundwater table,the saline content of the groundwater,as well as the content of free proline,soluble sugars,plant endogenous hormones(abscisic acid(ABA),and cytokinins(CTK))of the leaves of the three species were monitored and analyzed at the lower reaches of the Tarim River in the study area where five transects were fixed at 100 m intervals along a vertical sampling line before and after water release.Saline stress dramatically increased soluble sugar concentration of the three species.Differences in sugar accumulation were determined among the species at different transects.The free proline concentration of the leaves of T.ramosissima and P.euphratica showed a proportional decrease with various degrees of elevation of the groundwater table after water release.There was a least correlation between the soluble sugars and proline stimulation in T.ramosissima.It was strongly suggested that T.ramosissima developed a different strategy to accumulate organic solutes to adapt to the stress environment.The soluble sugars and proline accumulation responded to the changes of groundwa-ter table independently:the former occurred under salt stress,whereas the latter was more significant under drought stress.The concentration and the increase in concentration of ABA and CTK involved in stress resistance of the three species were also determined.This increase in the hormone concentration in P.euphratica was different from that of the other two species.Expressed as a function of increase of ABA concentration in leaves,A.venetum and T.ramosissima showed a different solute accumulation in response to groundwater table.There was a significant correlation between ABA accumulation andΔ[proline]in A.venetum as well as between ABA accumulation andΔ[sugar]in T.ramosissima.