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| Hydrogen peroxide functions as a secondary messenger for brassinosteroids-induced CO2 assimilation and carbohydrate metabolism in Cucumis sativus |
| Yu-ping Jiang, Fei Cheng, Yan-hong Zhou, Xiao-jian Xia, Wei-hua Mao, Kai Shi, Zhi-xiang Chen, Jing-quan Yu |
| Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plants Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette 47907-2054, USA |
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Abstract Brassinosteroids (BRs) are potent regulators of photosynthesis and crop yield in agricultural crops; however, the mechanism by which BRs increase photosynthesis is not fully understood. Here, we show that foliar application of 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) resulted in increases in CO2 assimilation, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulation, and leaf area in cucumber. H2O2 treatment induced increases in CO2 assimilation whilst inhibition of the H2O2 accumulation by its generation inhibitor or scavenger completely abolished EBR-induced CO2 assimilation. Increases of light harvesting due to larger leaf areas in EBR- and H2O2-treated plants were accompanied by increases in the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (ΦPSII) and photochemical quenching coefficient (qP). EBR and H2O2 both activated carboxylation efficiency of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate oxygenase/carboxylase (Rubisco) from analysis of CO2 response curve and in vitro measurement of Rubisco activities. Moreover, EBR and H2O2 increased contents of total soluble sugar, sucrose, hexose, and starch, followed by enhanced activities of sugar metabolism such as sucrose phosphate synthase, sucrose synthase, and invertase. Interestingly, expression of transcripts of enzymes involved in starch and sugar utilization were inhibited by EBR and H2O2. However, the effects of EBR on carbohydrate metabolisms were reversed by the H2O2 generation inhibitor diphenyleneodonium (DPI) or scavenger dimethylthiourea (DMTU) pretreatment. All of these results indicate that H2O2 functions as a secondary messenger for EBR-induced CO2 assimilation and carbohydrate metabolism in cucumber plants. Our study confirms that H2O2 mediates the regulation of photosynthesis by BRs and suggests that EBR and H2O2 regulate Calvin cycle and sugar metabolism via redox signaling and thus increase the photosynthetic potential and yield of crops.
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Received: 03 August 2012
Published: 29 June 2012
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