Gibberellin Is Involved in Inhibition of Cucumber Growth and Nitrogen Uptake at Suboptimal Root-Zone Temperatures.

Suboptimal temperature stress often causes heavy yield losses of vegetables by suppressing plant growth during winter and early spring. Gibberellin acid (GA) has been reported to be involved in plant growth and acquisition of mineral nutrients. However, no studies have evaluated the role of GA in th...

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Main Authors: Longqiang Bai, Huihui Deng, Xiaocui Zhang, Xianchang Yu, Yansu Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156188&type=printable
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author Longqiang Bai
Huihui Deng
Xiaocui Zhang
Xianchang Yu
Yansu Li
author_facet Longqiang Bai
Huihui Deng
Xiaocui Zhang
Xianchang Yu
Yansu Li
author_sort Longqiang Bai
collection DOAJ
description Suboptimal temperature stress often causes heavy yield losses of vegetables by suppressing plant growth during winter and early spring. Gibberellin acid (GA) has been reported to be involved in plant growth and acquisition of mineral nutrients. However, no studies have evaluated the role of GA in the regulation of growth and nutrient acquisition by vegetables under conditions of suboptimal temperatures in greenhouse. Here, we investigated the roles of GA in the regulation of growth and nitrate acquisition of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plants under conditions of short-term suboptimal root-zone temperatures (Tr). Exposure of cucumber seedlings to a Tr of 16°C led to a significant reduction in root growth, and this inhibitory effect was reversed by exogenous application of GA. Expression patterns of several genes encoding key enzymes in GA metabolism were altered by suboptimal Tr treatment, and endogenous GA concentrations in cucumber roots were significantly reduced by exposure of cucumber plants to 16°C Tr, suggesting that inhibition of root growth by suboptimal Tr may result from disruption of endogenous GA homeostasis. To further explore the mechanism underlying the GA-dependent cucumber growth under suboptimal Tr, we studied the effect of suboptimal Tr and GA on nitrate uptake, and found that exposure of cucumber seedlings to 16°C Tr led to a significant reduction in nitrate uptake rate, and exogenous application GA can alleviate the down-regulation by up regulating the expression of genes associated with nitrate uptake. Finally, we demonstrated that N accumulation in cucumber seedlings under suboptimal Tr conditions was improved by exogenous application of GA due probably to both enhanced root growth and nitrate absorption activity. These results indicate that a reduction in endogenous GA concentrations in roots due to down-regulation of GA biosynthesis at transcriptional level may be a key event to underpin the suboptimal Tr-induced inhibition of root growth and nitrate uptake. These findings may have important practical implications in effective mitigation of suboptimal temperature-induced vegetable loss under greenhouse conditions.
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spelling doaj-art-cc5a3c03db7e44d9906f722ea3fd87f62025-08-20T02:15:41ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01115e015618810.1371/journal.pone.0156188Gibberellin Is Involved in Inhibition of Cucumber Growth and Nitrogen Uptake at Suboptimal Root-Zone Temperatures.Longqiang BaiHuihui DengXiaocui ZhangXianchang YuYansu LiSuboptimal temperature stress often causes heavy yield losses of vegetables by suppressing plant growth during winter and early spring. Gibberellin acid (GA) has been reported to be involved in plant growth and acquisition of mineral nutrients. However, no studies have evaluated the role of GA in the regulation of growth and nutrient acquisition by vegetables under conditions of suboptimal temperatures in greenhouse. Here, we investigated the roles of GA in the regulation of growth and nitrate acquisition of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plants under conditions of short-term suboptimal root-zone temperatures (Tr). Exposure of cucumber seedlings to a Tr of 16°C led to a significant reduction in root growth, and this inhibitory effect was reversed by exogenous application of GA. Expression patterns of several genes encoding key enzymes in GA metabolism were altered by suboptimal Tr treatment, and endogenous GA concentrations in cucumber roots were significantly reduced by exposure of cucumber plants to 16°C Tr, suggesting that inhibition of root growth by suboptimal Tr may result from disruption of endogenous GA homeostasis. To further explore the mechanism underlying the GA-dependent cucumber growth under suboptimal Tr, we studied the effect of suboptimal Tr and GA on nitrate uptake, and found that exposure of cucumber seedlings to 16°C Tr led to a significant reduction in nitrate uptake rate, and exogenous application GA can alleviate the down-regulation by up regulating the expression of genes associated with nitrate uptake. Finally, we demonstrated that N accumulation in cucumber seedlings under suboptimal Tr conditions was improved by exogenous application of GA due probably to both enhanced root growth and nitrate absorption activity. These results indicate that a reduction in endogenous GA concentrations in roots due to down-regulation of GA biosynthesis at transcriptional level may be a key event to underpin the suboptimal Tr-induced inhibition of root growth and nitrate uptake. These findings may have important practical implications in effective mitigation of suboptimal temperature-induced vegetable loss under greenhouse conditions.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156188&type=printable
spellingShingle Longqiang Bai
Huihui Deng
Xiaocui Zhang
Xianchang Yu
Yansu Li
Gibberellin Is Involved in Inhibition of Cucumber Growth and Nitrogen Uptake at Suboptimal Root-Zone Temperatures.
PLoS ONE
title Gibberellin Is Involved in Inhibition of Cucumber Growth and Nitrogen Uptake at Suboptimal Root-Zone Temperatures.
title_full Gibberellin Is Involved in Inhibition of Cucumber Growth and Nitrogen Uptake at Suboptimal Root-Zone Temperatures.
title_fullStr Gibberellin Is Involved in Inhibition of Cucumber Growth and Nitrogen Uptake at Suboptimal Root-Zone Temperatures.
title_full_unstemmed Gibberellin Is Involved in Inhibition of Cucumber Growth and Nitrogen Uptake at Suboptimal Root-Zone Temperatures.
title_short Gibberellin Is Involved in Inhibition of Cucumber Growth and Nitrogen Uptake at Suboptimal Root-Zone Temperatures.
title_sort gibberellin is involved in inhibition of cucumber growth and nitrogen uptake at suboptimal root zone temperatures
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156188&type=printable
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