Seed Development and Germination in an Arabidopsis thaliana Line Antisense to Glutathione Reductase 2

Desiccating and germinating seeds are particularly prone to oxidative stress. Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most abundant and ubiquitous antioxidants in plants. To better understand GSH's role in developing and germinating seeds, wildtype (WT) and a line of seed antisense for glutathione redu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of new seeds 2010-04, Vol.11 (2), p.104-126
Main Authors: Sumugat, M. R., Donahue, J. L., Cortes, D. F., Stromberg, V. K., Grene, R., Shulaev, V., Welbaum, G. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
antioxidant levels
Antioxidants
Antisense
Arabidopsis thaliana
Defense mechanisms
Development
Environmental stress
Gel electrophoresis
Germination
germination stress
glutathione reductase
High temperature
High-performance liquid chromatography
Metabolism
Osmotic stress
Oxidative stress
seed development
Seeds
Temperature effects
Transcription
Water stress
Water temperature
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Summary:Desiccating and germinating seeds are particularly prone to oxidative stress. Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most abundant and ubiquitous antioxidants in plants. To better understand GSH's role in developing and germinating seeds, wildtype (WT) and a line of seed antisense for glutathione reductase 2 (anGR2), one of two glutathione reductase (GR) genes characterized in the genetic model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, were compared. GSH levels in maturing and germinating seeds were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and GR activity by native Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Natural and accelerated aging and germination at high temperature and under water stress were compared for WT and anGR2 seeds. Total GSH pools were two-fold less in anGR2 than in WT after three hours of imbibition. Under high temperature and osmotic stress, germination percentages were lower in anGR2, suggesting a specific relationship between GSH metabolism and stress defense mechanisms early in germination. Germination of anGR2 seeds declined while that of WT seeds increased slightly, during nine months of conventional storage. The relationship between GR2 transcript and activity levels during early imbibition and total GSH pools suggest a key role for GR2 in protection against environmental stress. This study shows that GSH metabolism is one factor that determines the stress tolerance of germinating Arabidopsis seeds.
ISSN:1522-886X
1522-9025
DOI:10.1080/15228861003776175