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Hypoxia induces stem and leaf nitric oxide (NO) emission from poplar seedlings

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Abstract

Main conclusion

Hypoxia leads to NO formation in poplar roots. Additionally, either NO or a NO derivative is transported from the roots to the shoot causing NO emission from aboveground plant organs.

Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the response of plants to various forms of stress including hypoxia. It also seems to play an important role in stomatal closure during stress exposure. In this study, we investigated the formation of NO in roots of intact poplar (Populus × canescens) plants in response to hypoxia, as well as its dependence on nitrate availability. We further addressed the question if root hypoxia triggers NO emission from aboveground plant parts, i.e., stems and leaves of young poplar trees. Our results indicate that NO is formed in poplar roots in response to hypoxia and that this production depends on the availability of nitrate and its conversion product nitrite. As long as nitrate was available in the nutrient solution, NO emission of roots occurred; in the range of the nitrate concentrations (10–100 µM) tested, NO emission was widely independent on nitrate concentration. However, the time period in which NO was emitted and the total amount of NO emitted strongly depended on the nitrate concentration of the solution. Hypoxia also led to increased NO emissions from the leaves and stems of the trees. There was a tight correlation between leaf and stem NO emission of hypoxia-treated plants. We propose that NO is produced by nitrate reductase in the roots and either NO itself, a metabolic NO precursor, or a NO derivative is transported in the xylem sap of the trees from the roots to the shoot thereby mediating NO emission from aboveground parts of the plant.

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Abbreviations

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

PMSF:

Phenazinemethosulfate

NED:

N-(1-naphthyl)-ethylene-diamine dihydrochloride

PPFD:

Photosynthetically active photon flux density

nsHb:

Non-symbiotic hemoglobin

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Acknowledgments

We are most grateful to Prof Werner Kaiser and Prof Rainer Hedrich (both University of Würzburg, Germany) for introduction into NO measurements and for providing the NO analyzers. Bin Liu was supported by a grant of the China Scholarship Council (Grant # 2010630072).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Forstwissenschaften, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee Geb. 053/054, 79110, Freiburg, Germany

    Bin Liu, Heinz Rennenberg & Jürgen Kreuzwieser

  2. King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Heinz Rennenberg

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  1. Bin Liu
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  2. Heinz Rennenberg
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Correspondence to Jürgen Kreuzwieser.

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Liu, B., Rennenberg, H. & Kreuzwieser, J. Hypoxia induces stem and leaf nitric oxide (NO) emission from poplar seedlings. Planta 241, 579–589 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-014-2198-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-014-2198-8

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