Changes of Nitrate Reductase Activity in Cucumber Seedlings in Response to Nitrate Stress

In China, nitrogen fertilizer application rates in intensive agricultural systems have increased dramatically in recent years, especially in protected vegetable production systems. This excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer has resulted in soil secondary salinization, which has become a significant environmental stress for crops such as cucumber, in the protected farmland of China. So it is necessary to illuminate how crops respond to nitrate stress. The objective of this work was to examine the effects of increased nitrate concentration [14 （CK） and 140 mmol L^-1 （T）] on NO3- concentration, and in vitro and in vivo nitrate reductase activities in the roots and leaves of cucumber （Cucumis sativus L. cv. Xintaimici） seedlings with hydroponic culture. The results showed that the NO3- concentration in the roots and leaves of T seedlings significantly increased over treatment course, and at 12 d increased by 1.08 and 1.72 times with respect to CK seedlings, respectively; in vitro nitrate reductase activity of T was increased dramatically to 1.74 times of CK in the roots at 2 d and 1.56 times of CK in the leaves at 6 d, and then decreased. At 12 d, in vitro activity was still 24.3% higher in the roots and only 9.9% lower in the leaves than CK. Compared with in vitro nitrate reductase activity, in vivo activity responded differently to the increase of treatment time. At the beginning, in vivo nitrate reductase activity in the roots and leaves of T had no significant difference from CK, whereas with the increase of treatment duration, the activity decreased. At 12 d, in vivo activity in the roots and leaves of T lowered by 20.1 and 52.8% with respect to CK, respectively. This evidence suggests that posttranslational activation of nitrate reductase in cucumber seedlings may be seriously inhibited by nitrate stress.

Potassium alleviated high nitrogen-induced apple growth inhibition by regulating photosynthetic nitrogen allocation and enhancing nitrogen utilization capacity

There is a close relationship between potassium(K)and nitrogen(N).However,the roles of K under high N conditions remain unclear.Using a hydroponics approach,we monitored the morphological,physiological,and molecular changes in M9T337 apple(Malus domestica)rootstocks under different nitrate(10 and 30 mmol·L^(-1)NO_(3)^(-))and K supply(0.5,6,10,and 20 mmol·L_(-1)K^(+))conditions.Results revealed that high nitrate inhibited the root growth of M9T337 rootstocks,downregulated the expressions of K transporter genes(MdPT5,MdHKT1,and MdATK1),and reduced the net NO3-and K+influx at the surface of roots,thereby resulting in an N/K imbalance in rootstocks.Further investigation showed that 10 mmol·L^(-1)K increased the activity of N metabolic enzymes(NR,GS,NiR,and GOGAT),upregulated the expressions of genes related to nitrate uptake and transport(MdNRT1.1,MdNRT1.2,MdNRT1.5,and MdNRT2.4),promoted15N transport from the roots to the shoots,optimized leaf N distribution,and improved photosynthetic N utilization efficiency under high nitrate conditions.These results suggest that the negative effects of high nitrate may be related to the N/K imbalance and that reducing N/K in plants by increasing K supply level can effectively alleviate the inhibition of N assimilation by high nitrate stress.

Naringin ameliorates acetic acid induced colitis through modulation of endogenous oxido-nitrosative balance and DNA damage in rats

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of naringin on experimentally induced inflammatory bowel dis- ease in rats. Naringin （20, 40 and 80 mg/kg） was given orally for 7 days to Wistar rats before induction of colitis by intrarectal instillation of 2 mL of 4% （v/v） acetic acid solution. The degree of colonic mucosal damage was analyzed by examining mucosal damage, ulcer area, ulcer index and stool consistency. Intrarectal administration of 4% acetic acid resulted in significant modulation of serum alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, superoxide dismutase （SOD）, glutathione （GSH）, malondialdehyde （MDA） and myeloperoxidase （MPO） content along with colonic nitric oxide （NO）, xanthine oxidase （XO） level and protein carbonyl content in the colonic tissue as well as in blood. Naringin （40 and 80 mg/kg） exerted a dose dependent （P 〈 0.05） ameliorative effect, as it significantly increased hematological parameter as well as colonic SOD and GSH. There was a significant （P 〈 0.05） and dose dependant inhibition of macroscopical score, ulcer area along with colonic MDA, MPO activity by the 7 days of pretreatment of naringin （40 and 80 mg/kg）. Biochemical studies revealed a significant （P 〈 0.05） dose dependant inhibition in serum alkaline phosphatase （ALP） and lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） levels by pretreatment of naringin. Increased levels of colonic NO, XO, protein carbonyl content and DNA damage were also sig- nificantly decreased by naringin pretreatment. The findings of the present investigation propose that naringin has an anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic potential effect at colorectal sites as it modulates the production and expression of oxidative mediators such as MDA, MPO, NO and XO, thus reducing DNA damage.