The involvement of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) in the protective action of 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) against drought stress was studied in the seedling roots of two wheat cultivars differing in drought tolerance. Under dehydration conditions, the contents of ABA and WGA were shown to change significantly in the roots of either drought-tolerant cultivar Omskaya 35 or drought-sensitive cultivar Salavat Yulaev. Meanwhile, accumulation of either ABA or WGA started earlier and was two times greater in plants of drought-tolerant cultivar. Since WGA is an excreted protein, it is not surprising that the level of lectin in the roots gradually decreased by the 7th day of treatment due to its exudation into root environment. Pre-sowing treatment with EBR contributed to additional accumulation of lectin as compared to the control variants of either cultivar, while the hormone treatment did not change ABA content. Meanwhile, under conditions of drought, EBR-pretreated seedlings were characterized by lower level of accumulation of ABA and WGA in the roots. EBR application was found to prevent drought-induced inhibition of cell division in the root apical meristem, while WGA excreted into the root environment may contribute significantly to the effect.

中文翻译：

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在干旱条件下，小麦胚芽凝集素参与了24-表油菜素内酯对小麦幼苗根的保护作用。

在两个耐旱性不同的小麦品种根部，研究了小麦胚芽凝集素（WGA）参与24-表油菜素内酯（EBR）对干旱胁迫的保护作用。在脱水条件下，耐旱品种Omskaya 35或干旱敏感品种Salavat Yulaev的根中ABA和WGA的含量均显示出显着变化。同时，耐旱品种的植物中ABA或WGA的积累开始较早，是后者的两倍。由于WGA是一种排泄的蛋白质，因此在处理的第7天，由于其渗入根部环境，根部中的凝集素水平逐渐降低也就不足为奇了。与任一品种的对照变种相比，用EBR进行的播前处理有助于增加凝集素的积累，而激素治疗并没有改变ABA的含量。同时，在干旱条件下，经EBR预处理的幼苗的特征是根部ABA和WGA的积累水平较低。发现使用EBR可以防止干旱诱导的根尖分生组织的细胞分裂抑制，而排泄到根部环境中的WGA可能对该作用有显着贡献。