In a previous study, a salt stress-induced programmed cell death （PCD） model was established in rice root tip cells. Here, by using Wuyunjing 8th rice seedlings, the effects of lanthanum on salt stress-induced PCD early events were studied. The results indicated that low concentrations （10 μmol/L）, but not high concentrations （100 μmol/L） of LaCl3 could effectively prevent salt stress-induced PCD. Further study demonstrated that in the early stages of salt-induced PCD process, 10 μmol/L of La^3＋ could prevent the increase of cytoplasmic calcium levels, inhibit reactive oxygen species （ROS） production, and enhance the ROS-scavenging enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutases （SOD） and ascorbate peroxidase （APX）. Imidazole （20 mmol/L）, the inhibitor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase （NADPH oxidase）, could alleviate the occurrence of PCD obviously, and such alleviation could be enhanced by the addition of La^3＋, indicating the involvement of NADPH oxidase in the salt stress-induced PCD process. Taken together, lanthanum could prevent salt stress-induced PCD occurrence in the rice root tip cells by blocking the calcium influx under stress, which was followed by inhibiting calcium-dependent NADPH oxidase activity to prevent O2^·- production and, enhancing the cytosolic antioxidative enzyme activities to scavenge the reactive oxygen species.
Jian-You Li Ai-Liang Jiang Hai-Yan Chen Ying Wang Wei Zhang
Salt stressed rice root tips were used to investigate the changes of reactive oxygen species （ROS） and antioxidant enzymes at the early stages of programmed cell death （PCD）. The results indicated that 500 mmol/L NaCI treatment could lead to specific features of PCD in root tips, such as DNA ladder, nuclear condense and deformation, and transferase mediated dUTP nick end labeling positive reaction, which were initiated at 4 h of treatment and pro- gressed thereafter. Cytochrome c release from mitochondria into cytoplasm was also observed, which occurred at 2 h and was earlier than the above nuclear events. In the very early phase of PCD, an immediate burst in hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion production rate was accompanied by two-phase changes of superoxide dismutases and ascorbate peroxidase. A short period of increase in the activity was followed by prolonged impairment. Thus, we conclude that salt can induce PCD in rice root tip cells, and propose that in the early phase of rice root tip cell PCD, salt stress-induced oxidative burst increased the antioxidant enzyme activity, which, in turn, scavenged the ROS and abrogated PCD. Also, when the stress is prolonged, the antioxidant system is damaged and accumulated ROS induces the PCD process, which leads to cytochrome c release and nuclear change.
[Objective] The mitigative effect of antioxidase system of a rice mutant with low chlorophyll b on photooxidative damage was studied.[Method] A rice mutant with low chlorophyll b and its wild type were taken as experimental materials to comparatively research their peroxide (H2O2) contents, the activity and isozymes of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) in chloroplast.[Result] Compared with the wild type, there were many kinds of SOD, POD and CAT isozymes in leaf cells and chloroplast cell of mutant, and the activity of SOD, POD and CAT isozymes in leaf cells and chloroplast cell of mutant was also correspondingly higher. Under intense light condition, the H2O2 content of chloroplast in mutant was less than that in the wild type. [Conclusion] The higher activity of scavenging active oxygen can relieve the photooxidative damage made by excessive light energy of intense light on photosynthetic membrane, which is an important reason for higher photosystem Ⅱ (PS II) stability of this mutant.
