biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 53:511-516, 2009 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-009-0092-1

Responses to drought stress in two poplar species originating from different altitudes

F. Yang^1,2, X. Xu^1,2, X. Xiao^1,2, C. Li^1,*

¹ Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, P.R. China

² Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China

Cuttings of Populus kangdingensis and Populus cathayana, originating from high and low altitudes in the eastern Himalaya, respectively, were examined during one growing season in a greenhouse to determine their responses to drought stress (soil moisture decreased from 100 to 55 or 25 % field capacity). Compared to control plants grown under 100 % field capacity, those poplars grown under 55 and 25 % field capacity possessed lower increases in height and stem diameter, and higher contents of soluble sugars, free proline, malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide, and higher activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR). Compared with P. cathayana with greater leaf area, P. kangdingensis with greater root/shoot ratio exhibited lower MDA and H₂O₂ contents, higher soluble sugar and free proline contents, and higher activities of CAT, SOD, POD, APX and GR. These results suggested that P. kangdingensis was more drought tolerant than P. cathayana.

Keywords: antioxidant enzymes; free proline; hydrogen peroxide; malondialdehyde; soluble sugars

Subjects: ascorbate peroxidase; catalase; glutathione reductase; growth and growth analysis; guaiacol peroxidase; hydrogen peroxide; malondialdehyde; poplar; Populus cathayana; Populus kangdingensis; proline; sugars; superoxide dismutase (SOD)

Received: October 30, 2007; Accepted: May 15, 2008; Published: September 1, 2009  Show citation