RESUMO
A greenhouse experiment was conducted to examine the photosynthetic and physiological responses of two-year-old cuttings of Hibiscus hamabo to the drought stress (20 days) and subsequent rewatering (21 days). The results showed that after 20-day drought, all individuals were survived in spite of the 5.9% soil water content. Drought stress drastically reduced net photosynthetic rate of H. hamabo, with the highest value only being 1.1 µmol·m-2·s-1. Drought stress declined the maximum photochemical efficiency to 84.3% compared with the control plants. Under drought stress, H. hamabo could stabilize cell osmotic potential and eliminate the drought-caused lipid peroxidation by coordinating the accumulation of soluble protein and antioxidant enzymes. After rewatering for seven days, net photosynthetic rate of treated H. hamabo recovered to 57.3% of that under control treatment. Meanwhile, the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase decreased with the decline of malondialdehyde content. After rewatering for 21 days, no significant differences in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, soluble protein and relative water were found between the treated and control treatment. At harvest, the total biomass of treated H. hamabo decreased, while the root-shoot ratio remarkably increased when compared with control plants. In short, our results indicated strong drought tolerance of H. hamabo, which could play important roles in landscape improvement and greening in coastal areas.
Assuntos
Secas , Hibiscus/fisiologia , Estresse Fisiológico , Malondialdeído/metabolismo , Fotossíntese , ÁguaRESUMO
KEY MESSAGE: The T.118 and T.406 seedlings showed strong adaptability under Cd concentrations ≤ 50 µM. The mechanisms of photoprotection in T.118 and T.406 differed in high-Cd concentrations. To explore the physiological response characteristics of Taxodium hybrids to cadmium (Cd) stress and provide basis for screening of Cd-tolerant species, the hydroponic cultivation of T.118 and T.406 seedlings was conducted to demonstrate the effects of Cd stress on seedling growth, antioxidant system, and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. After 35 days of Cd stress at a concentration ≤ 50 µM, the dry weight biomass of the two clones did not significantly differ from that of the control. T.406 exhibited a significant increase in POD activity compared to T.118 and maintained high SOD activity after exposure to high concentrations of Cd, whereas MDA levels showed little changes. Under low-Cd stress, chlorophyll content and fluorescence parameters remained stable, especially for T.406. Under high-Cd concentration stress, the above parameters were lower than the control, with a more significant decrease in T.118 than in T.406. The non-photochemical quenching coefficient (NPQ) of both clones increased with increasing Cd concentration. T.118 showed a greater increase than T.406, particularly under high-Cd concentration stress. The T.118 and T.406 seedlings adapted to low-Cd concentration stress by enhancing their antioxidant enzyme activity to maintain the balance of reactive oxygen metabolism and reduce cellular damage. The photochemical activity of mesophyll cells remained high to maintain photosynthetic capacity and normal seedling growth. T.406 showed stronger resistance to Cd than T.118. T.406 prevented photodamage by promoting the photochemical utilization of the excitation energy and maintaining a strong antioxidant stress ability. Enhancement of heat dissipation capability may be the main photoprotection mechanism of T.118.
