Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) are three essential macro-elements for plant growth and development. Used to improve yield in agricultural production, the excessive use of chemical fertilizers often leads to increased production costs and ecological environmental pollution. Vitamins C and E are antioxidants that play an important role in alleviating abiotic stress. However, there are few studies on alleviating oxidative stress caused by macro-element deficiency. Here, we used Arabidopsis vitamin E synthesis-deficient mutant vte4 and vitamin C synthesis-deficient mutant vtc1 on which exogenous vitamin E and vitamin C, respectively, were applied at the bolting stage. In the deficiency of macro-elements, the Arabidopsis chlorophyll content decreased, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative electric conductivity increased, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulated. The mutants vtc1 and vte4 are more severely stressed than the wild-type plants. Adding exogenous vitamin E was found to better alleviate stress than adding vitamin C. Vitamin C barely affected and vitamin E significantly inhibited the synthesis of ethylene (ETH) and jasmonic acid (JA) genes, thereby reducing the accumulation of ETH and JA that alleviated the senescence caused by macro-element deficiency at the later stage of bolting in Arabidopsis. A deficiency of macro-elements also reduced the yield and germination rate of the seeds, which were more apparent in vtc1 and vte4, and adding exogenous vitamin C and vitamin E, respectively, could restore them. This study reported, for the first time, that vitamin E is better than vitamin C in delaying seedling senescence caused by macro-element deficiency in Arabidopsis.
Singlet oxygen (1O2) has a very short half-life of 10−5 s; however, it is a strong oxidant that causes growth arrest and necrotic lesions on plants1–4. Its signaling pathway remains largely unknown. The Arabidopsis flu (FLUORESCENT) mutant accumulates a high level of 1O2 and shows drastic changes in nuclear gene expression5. Only two plastid proteins, EX1 (EXECUTER 1) and EX2 (EXECUTER 2), have been identified in the singlet oxygen signaling6,7. Here we found that the transcription factor ABI4 (ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 4) binds the promoters of genes responsive to 1O2-signals. Inactivation of the ABI4 protein in the flu/abi4 double mutant was sufficient to suppress the upregulation of almost all 1O2-responsive-genes and rescued the lethal phenotype of flu grown under light / dark cycles, similar to the flu/ex1/ex2 triple mutant. In addition to cell death, we reported for the first time that 1O2 also induces cell wall thickening and stomatal development defect. However, no apparent growth arrest was observed for the flu mutant under normal light / dim light cycles, but the cell wall thickening (doubled) and stomatal reduction (by two-thirds) still occurred. These results offer a new idea for breeding stress tolerant and lodging resistant varieties in agricultural industry.
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