Skip Navigation


JXB Advance Access originally published online on March 1, 2007
Journal of Experimental Botany 2007 58(6):1545-1555; doi:10.1093/jxb/erm032
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
58/6/1545    most recent
erm032v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Yang, J.
Right arrow Articles by Liu, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Yang, J.
Right arrow Articles by Liu, L.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Yang, J.
Right arrow Articles by Liu, L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author [2007]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

RESEARCH PAPER

Involvement of polyamines in the drought resistance of rice

Jianchang Yang1, Jianhua Zhang2,*, Kai Liu1, Zhiqin Wang1 and Lijun Liu1

1Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology of Jiangsu Province, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
2Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jzhang{at}hkbu.edu.hk

This study investigated whether and how polyamines (PAs) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants are involved in drought resistance. Six rice cultivars differing in drought resistance were used and subjected to well-watered and water-stressed treatments during their reproductive period. The activities of arginine decarboxylase, S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase, and spermidine (Spd) synthase in the leaves were significantly enhanced by water stress, in good agreement with the increase in putrescine (Put), Spd, and spermine (Spm) contents there. The increased contents of free Spd, free Spm, and insoluble-conjugated Put under water stress were significantly correlated with the yield maintenance ratio (the ratio of grain yield under water-stressed conditions to grain yield under well-watered conditions) of the cultivars. Free Put at an early stage of water stress positively, whereas at a later stage negatively, correlated with the yield maintenance ratio. No significant differences were observed in soluble-conjugated PAs and insoluble-conjugated Spd and Spm among the cultivars. Free PAs showed significant accumulation when leaf water potentials reached –0.51 MPa to –0.62 MPa for the drought-resistant cultivars and –0.70 MPa to –0.84 MPa for the drought-susceptible ones. The results suggest that rice has a large capacity to enhance PA biosynthesis in leaves in response to water stress. The role of PAs in plant defence to water stress varies with PA forms and stress stages. In adapting to drought it would be good for rice to have the physiological traits of higher levels of free Spd/free Spm and insoluble-conjugated Put, as well as early accumulation of free PAs, under water stress.

Key words: Arginine decarboxylase (ADC), drought resistance, ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), polyamines, rice, S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase (SAMDC), spermidine synthase, water stress

Received 19 December 2006; Accepted 31 January 2007


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
P. Guo, M. Baum, S. Grando, S. Ceccarelli, G. Bai, R. Li, M. von Korff, R. K. Varshney, A. Graner, and J. Valkoun
Differentially expressed genes between drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive barley genotypes in response to drought stress during the reproductive stage
J. Exp. Bot., June 26, 2009; (2009) erp194v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
M. S. Kalamaki, D. Alexandrou, D. Lazari, G. Merkouropoulos, V. Fotopoulos, I. Pateraki, A. Aggelis, A. Carrillo-Lopez, M. J. Rubio-Cabetas, and A. K. Kanellis
Over-expression of a tomato N-acetyl-L-glutamate synthase gene (SlNAGS1) in Arabidopsis thaliana results in high ornithine levels and increased tolerance in salt and drought stresses
J. Exp. Bot., April 8, 2009; (2009) erp072v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.