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Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 55, No. 396, pp. 475-483, February 1, 2004
© 2004 Oxford University Press

Regulation of Growth, Development and Whole Organism Physiology

Catalase activity and expression in developing sunflower seeds as related to drying

Received 30 April 2003; Accepted 20 October 2003

Christophe Bailly*, Juliette Leymarie, Arnaud Lehner, Sandra Rousseau, Daniel Côme and Françoise Corbineau

Physiologie Végétale Appliquée, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Tour 53,
er1er étage, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris cedex 05, France

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: +33 1 44 27 59 27. E-mail: bailly{at}ccr.jussieu.fr

Changes in catalase (CAT) activity and in CAT isoform pattern and expression were investigated in developing sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seeds during desiccation on the mother plant and after artificial drying on the flowerheads. Seeds regularly desiccated during their development on the mother plant and reached mass maturity at c. 42 d after flowering (DAF). Freshly harvested seeds did not germinate at any stage of development because they were dormant, but their dormancy was broken after 5–6 months of dry storage. Immature seeds were desiccation-tolerant at 24 DAF since they were able to germinate fully after artificial drying on the flowerheads followed by dry storage. CAT activity increased in non-dehydrated seeds during their development, reaching a maximum a little after seed mass maturity and after artificial drying in immature seeds. This stimulation of CAT activity by natural and artificial drying was related to changes in CAT isoform pattern. Of the four constitutive CAT subunits, that of 59 kDa was always present, but dehydration induced the synthesis of a 55 kDa subunit. This synthesis of the CAT 55 kDa subunit resulted from an activation of the CATA1 gene, suggesting that the regulation of catalase activity and synthesis by drying occurred at the transcriptional level. The increase in CAT activity induced by seed drying was associated with a decrease in hydrogen peroxide level and in lipid peroxidation. These results suggest that CAT plays a role during seed desiccation by preventing dehydration-related oxidative damage and that H2O2 may play a role in the regulation of CAT gene expression and the transduction pathway of the dehydration signal.

Key words: Catalase, Helianthus annuus, hydrogen peroxide, seed development, seed drying.


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