Fengbin Song

Trade-off between Tolerance to Drought and Tolerance to Flooding in Three Wetland Plants

We tested whether a trade-off exists between tolerance to flooding and tolerance to drought in wetland plants by assessing biomass accumulation, relative growth rate (RGR), survival rate, and physiological response of three wetland plants growing in drought or flooded environments. In wetlands of China’s Sanjiang Plain, Carex lasiocarpa typically occurs at low elevations (10–50 cm water depths), Carex limosa at medial elevation (10–30 cm depths), and Deyeuxia angustifolia at high elevation (0–10 cm depths). Plants of three species were subjected to flooding and drought treatments (25 days) in a greenhouse experiment. In the flooding treatments, biomass accumulation (range 0.007–0.031 g per plant) and survival rate (11%) were lowest in D. angustifolia. Relative growth rate (RGR) was highest in C. lasiocarpa (-0.006 d−1), intermediate in C. limosa (-0.051 d−1), and lowest in D. angustifolia (-0.118 d−1) at the end of the flooding experiment. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity in C. lasiocarpa and C. limosa increased with flooding time, whereas ADH in D. angustifolia did not vary over the experimental period. These results indicated that tolerance to flooding from highest to lowest among the three species was: C. lasiocarpa > C. limosa > D. angustifolia. In the drought experiment, RGR was lower in C. lasiocarpa, but higher in C. limosa and D. angustifolia. At this experiment’s end, only D. angustifolia plants still survived. Under drought conditions, production of malondialdehyde (MDA, an indicator for assessing a plant’s ability to tolerate drought) showed the same pattern as ADH production under flooded conditions for all species. These results indicated that tolerance to drought from highest to lowest among the three species was: D. angustifolia > C. limosa > C. lasiocarpa. Our experiments indicate that a trade-off exists between tolerance to flooding and tolerance to drought in the three marsh plants.

Silicon Improves Maize Photosynthesis in Saline-Alkaline Soils

The research aimed to determine the effects of Si application on photosynthetic characteristics of maize on saline-alkaline soil, including photosynthetic rate (P n), stomatal conductance (g s), transpiration rate (E), and intercellular CO2 concentration (C i) of maize in the field with five levels (0, 45, 90, 150, and 225 kg·ha−1) of Si supplying. Experimental results showed that the values of P n, g s, and C i of maize were significantly enhanced while the values of E of maize were dramatically decreased by certain doses of silicon fertilizers, which meant that Si application with proper doses significantly increased photosynthetic efficiency of maize in different growth stages under stressing environment of saline-alkaline soil. The optimal dose of Si application in this experiment was 150 kg·ha−1 Si. It indicated that increase in maize photosynthesis under saline-alkaline stress took place by Si application with proper doses, which is helpful to improve growth and yield of maize.

Melatonin alleviates low PS I limited carbon assimilation under elevated CO2 and enhances the cold tolerance of offspring in chlorophyll b-deficient mutant wheat

Melatonin is involved in the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism and induction of cold tolerance in plants. The objective of this study was to investigate the roles of melatonin in modulation of carbon assimilation of wild‐type wheat and the Chl b‐deficient mutant ANK32B in response to elevated CO2 concentration ([CO2]) and the transgenerational effects of application of exogenous melatonin (hereafter identified as melatonin priming) on the cold tolerance in offspring. The results showed that the melatonin priming enhanced the carbon assimilation in ANK32B under elevated [CO2], via boosting the activities of ATPase and sucrose synthesis and maintaining a relatively higher level of total chlorophyll concentration in leaves. In addition, melatonin priming in maternal plants at grain filling promoted the seed germination in offspring by accelerating the starch degradation and improved the cold tolerance of seedlings through activating the antioxidant enzymes and enhancing the photosynthetic electron transport efficiency. These findings suggest the important roles of melatonin in plant response to future climate change, indicating that the melatonin priming at grain filling in maternal plants could be an effective approach to improve cold tolerance of wheat offspring at seedling stage.

Effect of Different Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Growth and Physiology of Maize at Ambient and Low Temperature Regimes

The effect of four different arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the growth and lipid peroxidation, soluble sugar, proline contents, and antioxidant enzymes activities of Zea mays L. was studied in pot culture subjected to two temperature regimes. Maize plants were grown in pots filled with a mixture of sandy and black soil for 5 weeks, and then half of the plants were exposed to low temperature for 1 week while the rest of the plants were grown under ambient temperature and severed as control. Different AMF resulted in different root colonization and low temperature significantly decreased AM colonization. Low temperature remarkably decreased plant height and total dry weight but increased root dry weight and root-shoot ratio. The AM plants had higher proline content compared with the non-AM plants. The maize plants inoculated with Glomus etunicatum and G. intraradices had higher malondialdehyde and soluble sugar contents under low temperature condition. The activities of catalase (CAT) and peroxidase of AM inoculated maize were higher than those of non-AM ones. Low temperature noticeably decreased the activities of CAT. The results suggest that low temperature adversely affects maize physiology and AM symbiosis can improve maize seedlings tolerance to low temperature stress.

Cadmium Uptake and Distribution by Different Maize Genotypes in Maturing Stage

Abstract A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different cadmium (Cd) concentrations of phaeozem on growth and uptake of Cd and mineral nutrient copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) by three maize genotypes in the mature stage. The results showed that the dry‐matter accumulation of shoots was inhibited by added Cd for Jidan209 and Jitian6, but this did not influence Chunyou30. The root biomasses decreased significantly for Jitian6 and stimulated Jidan209 and Chunyou30. Yields of three genotypes of maize were decreased by increasing soil Cd concentrations. Among them, Chunyou30 had a high tolerance and Jitian6 was most sensitive to Cd. The accumulation order of Cd in different parts of plants was root > leaf > stem > grain. The percentage of absorbed Cd by roots was 70–85% of total absorbed amount. Cadmium uptake by maize in the mature stage had a significant genetic variation: Jitian6 > Jidan209 > Chunyou30 for root, stem and leaf, and Jidan209 > Jitian6 > Chunyou30 for grain, respectively. Increase of soil Cd had no significant effect on Zn concentration of leaves, but there was a significant genetic variation: Chunyou30 > Jidan209 > Jitian6 (P=0.023). Cu concentration of leaves was increased significantly with increase of soil Cd (P<0.01), but no genetic variation was observed.

Melatonin Improves the Photosynthetic Carbon Assimilation and Antioxidant Capacity in Wheat Exposed to Nano-ZnO Stress

The release of nanoparticles into the environment is inevitable, which has raised global environmental concern. Melatonin is involved in various stress responses in plants. The present study investigated the effects of melatonin on photosynthetic carbon (C) assimilation and plant growth in nano-ZnO stressed plants. It was found that melatonin improved the photosynthetic C assimilation in nano-ZnO stressed wheat plants, mainly due to the enhanced photosynthetic energy transport efficiency, higher chlorophyll concentration and higher activities of Rubisco and ATPases. In addition, melatonin enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes to protect the photosynthetic electron transport system in wheat leaves against the oxidative burst caused by nano-ZnO stress. These results suggest that melatonin could improve the tolerance of wheat plants to nano-ZnO stress.

Effects of silicon on photosynthetic characteristics of maize (Zea mays L.) on alluvial soil.

The objectives of the study were to determine the effects of silicon on photosynthetic characteristics of maize on alluvial soil, including total chlorophyll contents, photosynthetic rate (P n), stomatal conductance (g s), transpiration rate (E), and intercellular CO2 concentration (C i) using the method of field experiment, in which there were five levels (0, 45, 90, 150, and 225 kg·ha−1) of silicon supplying. The results showed that certain doses of silicon fertilizers can be used successfully in increasing the values of total chlorophyll contents, P n, and g s and decreasing the values of E and C i of maize leaves, which meant that photosynthetic efficiency of maize was significantly increased in different growth stages by proper doses of Si application on alluvial soil, and the optimal dose of Si application was 150 kg·ha−1. Our results indicated that silicon in proper amounts can be beneficial in increasing the photosynthetic ability of maize, which would be helpful for the grain yield and growth of maize.

Changes in nitrogen metabolism and antioxidant enzyme activities of maize tassel in black soils region of northeast China

Two varieties of maize (Zea mays L.) grown in fields in black soils of northeast China were tested to study the dynamic changes of nitrogen metabolism and antioxidant enzyme activity in tassels of maize. Results showed that antioxidant enzyme activity in tassels of maize increased first and then decreased with the growing of maize, and reached peak value at shedding period. Pattern of proline was consistent with antioxidant enzyme activity, showing that osmotic adjustment could protect many enzymes, which are important for cell metabolism. Continuous reduction of soluble protein content along with the growing of maize was observed in the study, which indicated that quantitative material and energy were provided for pollen formation. Besides, another major cause was that a large proportion of nitrogen was used for the composition of structural protein. Nitrate nitrogen concentrations of tassels were more variable than ammonium nitrogen, which showed that nitrate nitrogen was the favored nitrogen source for maize.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Tolerance of Temperature Stress in Plants

Temperature is one of the most important environmental factors that determine the growth and productivity of plants across the globe. Many physiological and biochemical processes and functions are affected by low and high temperature stresses. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis has been shown to improve tolerance to temperature stress in plants. This chapter addresses the effect of AM symbiosis on plant growth and biomass production, water relations (water potential, stomatal conductance, and aquaporins), photosynthesis (photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll, and chlorophyll fluorescence), plasma membrane permeability (malondialdehyde and ATPase), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants, osmotic adjustment, carbohydrate metabolism, nutrient acquisition, and secondary metabolism under low or high temperature stress. The possible mechanisms of AM symbiosis improving temperature stress tolerance of the host plants via enhancing water and nutrient uptake, improving photosynthetic capacity and efficiency, protecting plant against oxidative damage, and increasing accumulation of osmolytes are discussed. This chapter also provides some future perspectives for better understanding the mechanisms of AM plant tolerance against temperature stress.

Arbuscular mycorrhizae reducing water loss in maize plants under low temperature stress

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form mutualistic mycorrhizal symbiotic associations with the roots of approximately 80% of all terrestrial plant species while facilitate the uptake of soil mineral nutrients by plants and in exchange obtain carbohydrates, thus representing a large sink for photosynthetically fixed carbon. Also, AM symbiosis increase plants resistance to abiotic stress such as chilling. In a recent study we reported that AM fungi improve low temperature stress in maize plants via alterations in host water status and photosynthesis. Here, the influence of AM fungus, Glomus etunicatum, on water loss rate and growth of maize plants was studied in pot culture under low temperature stress. The results indicated that low temperature stress significantly decreases the total fresh weight of maize plants, and AM symbiosis alleviate the water loss in leaves of maize plants.