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Drought-induced stress in leaves of Coix lacryma-jobi L. under exogenous application of proline and GABA amino acids

  • Biochemistry & Physiology - Original Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Coix lacryma-jobi L. is an Asian plant widely used in traditional medicine. Drought conditions can lead to an impairment of photosynthesis which can be softened by the exogenous application of proline and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) to maintain the electron transport chain (ETC) and avoid reactive oxygen species-induced oxidative damage by inducing antioxidative enzymes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of water deficit on C. lacryma-jobi leaves under the application of proline and GABA. Chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence emission, antioxidative enzyme activity (catalase, superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase and guaiacol peroxidase) and proline and GABA contents in leaf tissues were performed in plants subjected to 12 days of drought. Chl a fluorescence indicated impairments on photosynthetic apparatus due to water deficit that resulted into increased activity of antioxidant enzymes. The application of proline but not GABA was more efficient in alleviating the effects of water deficit, as evidenced by the maintenance of the dynamic dissipation of the photosynthetic energy, besides the greater accumulation of proline under these conditions. Water deficit induces alterations in the ETC, which is softened by the application of proline to cope with the deleterious effects of drought in C. lacryma-jobi plant leaves.

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Abbreviations

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

Catalase

Chl:

Chlorophyll

ETC:

Electron transport chain

GABA:

γ-Aminobutyric acid

GPOD:

Guaiacol peroxidase

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

OEC:

Oxygen-evolving complex

PQ:

Plastoquinone

PQH2 :

Plastoquinol

PSI:

Photosystem I

PSII:

Photosystem II

QA :

Quinone A

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

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Acknowledgments

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, Universidade Federal Fluminense-UFF, Niterói, RJ, 24210-240, Brazil

    Rafael Agostinho Ferreira, Cristina Moll Hüther, Ana Carolina Barbosa do Canto, Nathan Pereira da Costa Correa, Daniela Marques Correia, Rubiana Pereira Borges, Thelma de Barros Machado & Carlos Rodrigues Pereira

  2. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande-FURG, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil

    Junior Borella

  3. Departamento de Fitotecnia, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro-UFRRJ, Seropédica, RJ, 23897-000, Brazil

    Camila Ferreira de Pinho

Authors
  1. Rafael Agostinho Ferreira
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  2. Junior Borella
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  3. Cristina Moll Hüther
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  4. Ana Carolina Barbosa do Canto
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  5. Nathan Pereira da Costa Correa
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  7. Rubiana Pereira Borges
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  8. Camila Ferreira de Pinho
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  9. Thelma de Barros Machado
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  10. Carlos Rodrigues Pereira
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Contributions

RAF, JB, CMH, TBM and CRP contributed to the study conception and design. RAF, JB, CMH, ACBC, NPCC, DMC, RPB and CFP were involved in material preparation, data collection and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by RAF, JB and CMH. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript, read and approved the final manuscript version.

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Correspondence to Junior Borella.

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Ferreira, R.A., Borella, J., Hüther, C.M. et al. Drought-induced stress in leaves of Coix lacryma-jobi L. under exogenous application of proline and GABA amino acids. Braz. J. Bot 43, 513–521 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-020-00637-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-020-00637-0

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