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Effects of simulated drought stress on carotenoid contents and expression of related genes in carrot taproots

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Abstract

Carotenoids are liposoluble pigments found in plant chromoplasts that are responsible for the yellow, orange, and red colors of carrot taproots. Drought is one of the main stress factors affecting carrot growth. Carotenoids play important roles in drought resistance in higher plants. In the present work, the carotenoid contents in three different-colored carrot cultivars, ‘Kurodagosun’ (orange), ‘Benhongjinshi’ (red), and ‘Qitouhuang’ (yellow), were determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) after 15% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 treatment. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was then used to determine the expression levels of carotenoid synthesis- and degradation-related genes. Increases in β-carotene content in ‘Qitouhuang’ taproots under drought stress were found to be related to the expression levels of DcPSY2 and DcLCYB. Increases in lutein and decreases in α-carotene content in ‘Qitouhuang’ and ‘Kurodagosun’ under PEG treatment may be related to the expression levels of DcCYP97A3, DcCHXE, and DcCHXB1. The expression levels of DcNCED1 and DcNCED2 in the three cultivars significantly increased, thus suggesting that NCED genes could respond to drought stress. Analysis of the growth status and carotenoid contents of carrots under PEG treatment indicated that the orange cultivar ‘Kurodagosun’ has better adaptability to drought stress than the other cultivars and that β-carotene and lutein may be involved in the stress resistance process of carrot.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

DAS:

Days after sowing

DW:

Drought weight

LCYB:

Lycopene β-cyclase

LCYE:

Lycopene ε-cyclase

NCED:

9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase

PEG:

Polyethylene glycol

PSY:

Phytoene synthase

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

RT-qPCR:

Real-time fluorescence quantitative

SL:

Strigolactone

UPLC:

Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography

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Funding

The research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31872098), the Open Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University (ZW201905), and Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Biology and Germplasm Enhancement of Horticultural Crops in East China, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Rong-Rong Zhang, Ya-Hui Wang, Tong Li, Jian-Ping Tao, Zhi-Sheng Xu, Yong-Sheng Tian & Ai-Sheng Xiong

  2. Institute of Horticulture, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guiyang, 55006, China

    Guo-Fei Tan

  3. Institute of Vegetable Crops, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Horticultural Crop Genetic Improvement, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Xiao-Jun Su

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  1. Rong-Rong Zhang
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  2. Ya-Hui Wang
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  3. Tong Li
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Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: ASX and RRZ. Performed the experiments: RRZ, YHW, and TL. Analyzed the data: RRZ, YHW, TL, GFT, JPT, XJS, ZSX, and YST. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: ASX. Wrote the paper: RRZ. Revised the paper: ASX and YHW. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ai-Sheng Xiong.

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Zhang, RR., Wang, YH., Li, T. et al. Effects of simulated drought stress on carotenoid contents and expression of related genes in carrot taproots. Protoplasma 258, 379–390 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-020-01570-5

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