Effects of soil drying and subsequent re-watering on the activity of nitrate reductase in roots and leaves of Helianthus annuus
João Azedo-Silva A , Júlio Osório A , Filomena Fonseca A and Maria João Correia A BA Universidade do Algarve, CDCTPV, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
B Corresponding author; email: jcorreia@ualg.pt
Functional Plant Biology 31(6) 611-621 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP04018
Submitted: 22 January 2004 Accepted: 16 March 2004 Published: 23 June 2004
Abstract
The effects of drought on the activity of nitrate reductase (NR) were studied in Helianthus annuus L. plants subjected to soil drying and subsequent re-watering. Drought did not negatively affect the activation state of NR, but resulted in linearly-correlated decreases in the activity of the unphosphorylated active form and the total activity of NR, in both roots and leaves. The concentration of nitrate in roots, xylem and leaves also decreased in water-stressed plants, whereas the concentration of total amino acids was only transiently depressed at the leaf level. In contrast, soluble sugars accumulated both in roots and leaves of water-stressed plants. Drought-induced decreases in root NR activity were correlated with the observed changes in root nitrate concentration. A higher percentage of the decrease in foliar NR activity could be explained by the decline in nitrate flux to the leaves than by leaf nitrate content. Following re-watering, the extent of recovery of NR activity was higher in roots than in leaves. The delay in the recovery of foliar NR activity did not result from the persistence of reduced flux of nitrate through the xylem. Several hypotheses to explain the after-effect of soil drying on foliar NR activity are discussed.
Keywords: Helianthus annuus, nitrate reductase, water stress.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the project POCTI / 36145 / AGR / 2000, which was funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and by FEDER (European Union).
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