[Effects of water stress and nitrogen fertilization on peanut root morphological development and leaf physiological activities].

Taking 'Huayu 22' peanut as test material, effect of soil water content and nitrogen fertilization on the leaf physiological activities and root morphological characteristics of peanut plants were analyzed. Two levels of soil water condition were: (1) well-watered condition and (2) moderate water stress, and three levels of nitrogen were: (1) none nitrogen (N0), (2) moderate nitrogen (N1, 90 kg · hm(-2)) and (3) high nitrogen (N2, 180 kg · hm(-2)). The results showed that N1 significantly increased the peanut yield under two water conditions, but showed no significant effect on harvest index compared with N0. Under water stress condition, N1 had no significant effects on total root biomass and total root length, but the total root surface area was remarkably increased. The nitrogen fertilization significantly increased the root length and root surface area in 20-40 cm soil layer, and N2 significantly increased the root biomass and root surface area in the soil layer below 40 cm. The application of nitrogen remarkably increased CAT and POD activities in leaf, while MDA content was decreased with the increase of nitrogen level. Under well-watered condition, the root biomass, root length and root surface area in the soil layer below 40 cm and total root surface area were significantly reduced by nitrogen application, however, only N1 could increase leaf protective enzyme activities. Correlation analysis showed that the root length in 20-40 cm soil layer and SOD, CAT, POD activities in leaf were highly significantly related with peanut yield.

Isolation and characterization of drought-responsive genes from peanut roots by suppression subtractive hybridization

Background Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important economic and oilseed crop. Long-term rainless conditions and seasonal droughts can limit peanut yields and were conducive to preharvest aflatoxin contamination. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which peanut responds and adapts to water limited conditions, we isolated and characterized several drought-induced genes from peanut roots using a suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) technique. Results RNA was extracted from peanut roots subjected to a water stress treatment (45% field capacity) and from control plants (75% field capacity), and used to generate an SSH cDNA library. A total of 111 non-redundant sequences were obtained, with 80 unique transcripts showing homology to known genes and 31 clones with no similarity to either hypothetical or known proteins. GO and KEGG analyses of these differentially expressed ESTs indicated that drought-related responses in peanut could mainly be attributed to genes involved in cellular structure and metabolism. In addition, we examined the expression patterns of seven differentially expressed candidate genes using real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) and confirmed that all were up-regulated in roots in response to drought stress, but to differing extents. Conclusions We successfully constructed an SSH cDNA library in peanut roots and identified several drought-related genes. Our results serve as a foundation for future studies into the elucidation of the drought stress response mechanisms of peanut.

[Effects of drought stress on the root growth and development and physiological characteristics of peanut].

Taking two peanut varieties Huayu 17 and Tangke 8 as test objects, a soil column culture experiment was conducted in a rainproof tank to study the peanut root morphological development and physiological characteristics at late growth stages under moderate drought and well-watered conditions. Tanke 8 had more developed root system and higher yield and drought coefficient, while Huayu 17 had poorer root adaptability to drought stress. For the two varieties, their root length density and root biomass were mainly distributed in 0-40 cm soil layer, whereas their root traits differed in the same soil layer. The total root length, total root surface area, and total root volume of Huayu 17 at each growth stage were smaller under drought stress than under well-balanced water treatment, while these root characteristics of Tangke 8 under drought stress only decreased at flowering-pegging stage. Drought stress increased the root biomass, surface area, and volume of the two varieties in 20-40 cm soil layer, but decreased these root traits in the soil layers below 40 cm. Under drought stress, the root activity of the two varieties in the soil layers below 40 cm at pod filling stage decreased, and the decrement was larger for Huayu 17. The differences in the root system development and physiological characteristics of the two varieties at late growth stages under drought stress suggested that the root system of the two varieties had different water absorption and utilization under drought stress.

[Indices selection and comprehensive evaluation of salinity tolerance for peanut varieties].

A total of two hundred peanut varieties (lines) were exposed to different salt concentrations under pot cultivation, to evaluate salinity tolerance by indices such as emergence, morphology and biomass accumulation from emergence to seedling stage. The results showed that, as the salinity concentration increased, the emergence time was prolonged, plant morphology establishment was inhibited seriously, and biomass accumulation was reduced. The optimal concentration for evaluating salinity tolerance was 0.30%-0.45%. Ten indices were contributed to the mean membership function value by the membership function analysis. According to the correlation coefficient between indices and the mean membership function value, plant fresh mass, shoot fresh mass, root fresh mass, root dry mass, plant height and stem height could be the first selected indices for evaluating salinity tolerance of peanut plant. Plant dry mass, shoot dry mass, taproot length and emergence speed could be the second selected indices to comprehensively evaluate salinity tolerance of peanut plant. The 200 varieties were divided into 4 groups at different salinity concentrations, i. e. high salinity tolerance, salinity tolerance, salinity sensitivity, and high salinity sensitivity. Number of salinity tolerant varieties was decreased with increasing salinity concentration while the salinity sensitive one was increased. Salinity tolerance of some varieties showed the similarity (tolerant or sensitive) under different salinity stresses. Some varieties showed different tolerance under different salinity stresses, i. e. tolerance at low salinity concentration while sensitivity at high salinity concentration.