Investigating the Effect of Foliar Applied Proline on the Photosynthetic Pigments Content and Osmolytes of Pistachio Rootstock UCB1 under Water Stress Conditions

علوم باغبانی

Article 5, Volume 37, Issue 2 - Serial Number 58, August 2023, Pages 351-362   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jhs.2022.75455.1145

Authors

M. Fattahi^{* 1}; A. Mohammadkhani²

¹Horticultural Products Department, Technical and Vocational University, Tehran, Iran

²Department of Horticultral Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
 UCB-1 hybrid rootstock is propagated from the seed of a controlled cross between a P. atlantica female and a P. integerrima male. Clonal propagation of this rootstock is also necessary since it produces identical genotypes. UCB1 has recently been introduced in Iran. However, little research has been done on this subject. Water stress is one of the most important environmental stresses and occurs for several reasons, including low rainfall, high and low temperatures, salinity, and high intensity of light, among others. Drought stress is a multidimensional stress and causes changes in the physiological, morphological, biochemical, and molecular traits in plants. Proline is also found widely in plants and accumulates in large quantities in response to environmental stresses such as drought. It is the essential amino acids that accumulate in different tissues of the plant, especially in the leaves through the effect of water stress, and that the accumulation of it has a function in the regulation of osmosis in the cell as the proline is increased in the cytoplasm to counterbalance effort osmosis cell sap. Proline is an indicator of water stress tolerance and its increase in the leaf proof that the plant suffered drought stress, also is the way the plant tolerance to drought stress.
 
Materials and Methods
A pot experiment was conducted, to investigate the effectiveness of foliar applied proline in mitigating the concurrent effects of drought stresses on UCB1 rootstock, at greenhouse of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Shahrekord. Experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with split arrangement having three replications. Chl. and carotenoid contents were determined according to Lichtenthaler (1987). Leaf discs were obtained from expanded leaves of each pot in the morning. The leaf discs were weighed immediately to obtain the fresh weight (FW), and submerged in distilled water for 4 h at 4^◦C in dark condition and then weighed to prepare turgor weight (TW). The leaves were dried in a forced-air oven at 70^◦C for 24 h, and the dry weight (DW) was recorded. The RWC of samples was calculated using the following equation (Bastam et al., 2012): RWC = [(FW–DW)/(TW–DW)] × 100
Levels of glycine betaine were quantified as described previously by Arakawa et al. (1990). To determine the free-proline concentration, leaves were homogenized in 5 ml of ethanol at 95%. Proline concentration was calculated with a standard curve and expressed as µg g⁻¹fresh mass (Paquin and Lechasseur, 1979).
 
Results and Discussion
The UCB1 proximate analysis in the present study depicted that imposition of drought stress increased the leaf and root proline content and electrolyte leakage. Exogenous application of proline as foliar spray significantly increased the moisture content of leaf and root, RWC, Chl a and total chlorophyll. Exogenous proline application upregulated leaf and root proline contents and decreased the lipid peroxidation (decrease electrolyte leakage), resulting into improvement in chlorophyll contents. 150 mg. l^-1 proline application gave maximum alleviation against stress.
Numerous reports depict that the exogenous application of proline as a foliar spray can play an important role in enhancing plant tolerance against drought stress, and our results are consistent with them. This ameliorating effect of exogenously applied proline can take the form of osmoprotection, cryoprotection, or protection against reactive oxygen species.For example, in various plant species growing under stress conditions, exogenously supplied proline provided osmoprotection and facilitated plant growth. Normally, proline accumulation in plants, is in response to drought or salinity stress occurs in the cytosol where it contributes substantially to the cytoplasmic osmotic adjustment. It actively takes part in plant osmotic adjustment under stressful environmental conditions. In addition to its role as an osmolyte for osmotic adjustment, it actively takes part to stabilize subcellular structures, biological membranes, proteins, and scavenge free radicals. It also plays a vital role in buffering cellular redox potential under stressful environmental conditions.
 
Conclusion
 In summary, our results showed that, drought induces a decrease in moisture content, RWC, T Chl and carotenoids and an increase in some osmoregulators (proline, glycine betaine, TSC). The most favorable treatment was 150 mg.l-1 proline foliar spray. 150 mg.l^-1 proline application gave maximum alleviation against stress. Foliar application increased the moisture content of leaf and root, as well as increased the Chl a, total, RWC and proline content of leaf and root. It can be suggested that the foliar application of proline (150 mg L^-1) used as a plants defense factor against drought stress conditions.
 

Keywords

Amino acid; Drought; Electrolyte leakage; Relative leaf water content

References

1. Alkahtani, M.D.F., Hafez, Y.M., Attia, K., Rashwan, E., Husnain, L.A., AlGwaiz, H.I.M., & Abdelaal K.A.A. (2021). Evaluation of silicon and proline application on the oxidative machinery in drought-stressed sugar beet. Antioxidants, 10, 398.
2. Abdelaal, K.A.A., Attia, K.A., Alamery, S.F., El-Afry, M.M., Ghazy, A.I., Tantawy, D.S., Al-Doss, A.A., El-Shawy. E.S.E., Abu- Elsaoud. A.M., & Hafez. Y.M. (2020). Exogenous application of proline and salicylic acid can mitigate the injurious impacts of drought stress on barley plants associated with physiological and histological characters. Sustainability, 12, 1736.
3. Abdelaal, K.A.A., Hafez, Y.M., El-Afry, M., Tantawy, D.S., & Alshaal, T. (2018). Effect of some osmoregulators on photosynthesis, lipid peroxidation, antioxidative capacity, and productivity of barley (Hordeum vulgare) under water deficit stress. Environ. Science and Pollution Research, 25, 30199–30211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3023-x
4. Abdelaal, K.A.A., Mazrou, Y.S., & Hafez, Y.M. 2020. Silicon foliar application mitigates salt stress in sweet pepper plants by enhancing water status, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme activity and fruit yield. Plants, 9, 733.
5. Ali, Q., Ashraf, M., & Athar, H.R. (2007). Exogenously applied proline at different growth stages enhances growth of two maize cultivars grown under water deficit conditions. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 39, 1133-1144.
6. Arakawa, K., Katayama, M., & Takabe, T. (1990). Levels of betaine and betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase activity in the green leaves, and etiolated leaves and roots of barley. Plant Cell Physiology, 31(6), 797–803.
7. Bagheri, V., Shamshiri, M.H., Shirani, H., & Roosta, H. R. (2012). Nutrient uptake and distribution in mycorrhizal pistachio seedlings under drought stress. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 14, 1591–1604.
8. Bandurska, H. (2001). Does proline accumulated in leaves of water stressed barley plants confine cell membrane injury? I. Free proline accumulation membrane injury index in drought and osmotically stressed plant. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, 22, 409-415.
9. Bastam, N., Baninasab, B., & Ghobadi C. 2013. Improving salt tolerance by exogenous application of salicylic acid in seedlings of pistachio. Plant Growth Regulation, 69, 279-284. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-012-9770-7
10. Ben Ahmed, C., BenRouina, B., Sensoy, S., Boukhriss, M., & Ben Abdullah, F. (2010). Exogenous proline effects on photosynthetic performance and antioxidant defense system of young olive tree. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, 58, 7. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf9041479
11. Bolat, I., Dikilitas, M., Ercisli, S., Ikinci, A., & Tonkaz T. (2014). The effect of water stress on some morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics and bud success on Apple and Quince rootstocks. Scientific World Journal, 769732, 8 pages.
12. Chelli-Chaabouni, A., Mosbah, A. B., Gargouri-Bouzid, R., & Drira, N. (2010). In vitro salinity tolerance of two pistachio rootstocks: Pistacia vera and P. atlantica Desf. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 69, 302–312.
13. El-Nashaar, F., Hafez, Y.M., Abdelaal, K.A.A., Abdelfatah, A., Badr, M., El-Kady, S., & Yousef, A. (2020). Assessment of host reaction and yield losses of commercial barley cultivars to Drechslera trees the causal agent of net blotch disease in Egypt. Fresenius Environmental Bulletin and Advances in Food Sciences, 29, 2371–2377.
14. Khoyerdi, F., Shamshiri, M.H., & Estaji, A. (2016). Changes in some physiological and osmotic parameters of several pistachio genotypes under drought stress. Scientia Horticulturae, 198, 44–51.
15. Farooq, M., Wahid, A., Kobayashi, N., Fujita, D., & Basra, S.M.A. (2009). Plant drought stress effects, mechanisms and management. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 29, 185-212.
16. Fattahi, M., Shamshiri, M., & Esmaeilizade, M. (2015). Leaf physiomorphological responses of three mycorrhizal Pistachio rootstocks (Sarakhs, Abareqi and Bane-baqi) to salt stress. Iranian Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology, 15, 469-482. (In Persian with English abstract)
17. Ferguson, L., Reyes, H., Sanden, B., Grattan, S., Epstein, L., & Krueger, B. (2005). Pistachio rootstocks. In: Ferguson, L. (Ed.), Pistachio Production Manual. Center for Fruit and Nut Research and Information, Davis, pp. 67–73.
18. Ghaffaria, H., Tadayona, M.R., Bahadora, M., & Razmjoo, J. (2021). Investigation of the proline role in controlling traits related to sugar and root yield of sugar beet under water deficit conditions. Agriculture Water Management, 2021, 243.
19. Giri, B.R., & Mukerji, K.G. (2002). VA mycorrhizal techniques/VAM technology in establishment of plants under salinity stresses condition. Techniques in mycorrhizal studies, Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 313-327.
20. Godoy, F., Olivos-Hernández, K., Stange, C., & Handford, M. (2021). Abiotic stress in crop species: improving tolerance by applying plant metabolites. Plants, 10, 186.
21. Habibi, D., Ardakani, M.R., Mahmoudi, A., & Asgharzadeh, A. (2010). Effects of super absorbent polymer and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on yield and oxidative damage of maize under drought stress. International Conference on Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Pp: 253-257.
22. Hussain, M., Malik, M.A., Farooq, M., Ashraf, M.Y., & Cheema, A. (2008). Improving drought tolerance by exogenous application of glycinebetaine and salicylic acid in sunflower. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 194, 193–199.
23. Irigoyen, J.J., Emerich, D.W., & Sanchie, M.D. (1992). Water stress induced changeing concentrations of proline and total soluble sugars in nodulated alfalfa (Medicago sativa) plants. Physiologia plant Arum, 84, 67-72.
24. Kaur, G., & Asthir, B. (2015). Proline: A key player in plant abiotic stress tolerance. Biologia Plantarum, 59, 609–619.
25. Khaled, A.A., Abdelaal, K.A., Attia, S.F., Alamery, M.M., El-Afry A.I., Ghazy D.S., Tantawy A.A., Al-Doss E., El-Shawy A.M., & Yaser M.H. 2020. Exogenous application of proline and salicylic acid can mitigate the injurious impacts of drought stress on barley plants associated with physiological and histological characters. Sustainability, 12, 257. 1736. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051736
26. Kumar, D., Al Hassan, M., Naranjo, M.A., Agrawal, V., Boscaiu, M., & Vicente, O. (2017). Effects of salinity and drought on growth, ionic relations, compatible solutes and activation of antioxidant systems in oleander (Nerium oleander). PLoS ONE, 12(9), e0185017. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185017
27. Lichtenthaler, H.K. (1987). Chlorophylls and carotenoids: Pigments of photosynthetic biomembranes. Methods of Enzymology, 148, 350-380.
28. Mohammadrezakhani, S., Hajilou, J., Rezanejad, F., & Zaare-Nahandi, F. (2019). Assessment of exogenous application of proline on antioxidant compounds in three Citrus species under low temperature stress, Journal of Plant Interactions, 14(1), 347-358.
29. Okuma, E., Murakami, Y., Shimoishi, Y., Tada, M., & Murata, Y. (2004). Effect of exogenous application of proline and betaine on the growth of tobacco cultured cells under saline conditions. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 50(8), 1301-1305.
30. Paquin, R., & Lechasseur, P. (1979). Observations sur un method de dosage de lapraline libre dans les extraits de plantes. Canadian Journal of Botany, 57, 1851–1854.
31. Parvaiz, A., & Satyawati, S. (2008). Salt stress and Phyto-biochemical responses of plants. Plant Soil Environment, 54, 89-99.
32. Rahneshana, Z., Nasibia, F., & Ahmadi Moghadam, A. (2018). Effects of salinity stress on growth, physiological, biochemical parameters and nutrients in pistachio (Pistacia vera) rootstocks. Journal of plant Interactions, 1, 73–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/17429145.2018.1424355
33. Raoufi, A., Rahemi, M., Salehi, H., & Pessarakli, M. (2020). Pistacia vera genotypes; a potential rival for UCB-1 rootstock for cultivating under salt stress conditions. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology, 101515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcab.2020.101515
34. Roozbehani, F., Mosavi Fard, S., & Rezaeinejad, A. (2018). The effect of proline on some morphophysiological, physiological and biochemical properties of two varieties of Impatiens walleriana under salinity stress.Sc. thesis. University of Lorestan. (In Persian).
35. Shao, H.B., Chu, L.Y., Shao, M.A., Abdul Jaleel, C. & Hong-Mei, M. (2008). Higher plant antioxidants and redox signaling under environmental stresses. Comptes Rendus Biologie,s 331, 433–441.
36. Taylor, B. (1996). Proline and water deficit: ups, downs, ins and outs. The Plant Cell, 8, 1221-1224.
37. the, C.Y., Shaharuddin, N.A., Ho, C.L., & Mahmood M. (2016). Exogenous proline significantly affects the plant growth and nitrogen assimilation enzymes activities in rice (Oryza sativa) under salt stress. Acta Physiology Plant, 38, 151.
38. Verbruggen, N., & Hermans, C. (2008). Proline accumulation in plants: a review. Amino Acids, 35, 753-759.
39. Volkmar, K.M., & Steppuhn, H. (1997). Physiological responses of plants to salinity: a review. Canadian Journal of plant Science, 78, 19-27.
40. Weiss, E.A. (2000). Oilseed Crops, 2nd Edition. Blackwell Sc. Ltd., Bodmin, UK. Bilimleri Dergisi 28, 14-27.