A novel system for evaluating drought–cold tolerance of grapevines using chlorophyll fluorescence

Abstract

BackgroundGrape production in continental climatic regions suffers from the combination of drought and cold stresses during winter. Developing a reliable system to simulate combined drought–cold stress and to determine physiological responses and regulatory mechanisms is important. Evaluating tolerance to combined stress at germplasm level is crucial to select parents for breeding grapevines.ResultsIn the present study, two species, namely, Vitis amurensis and V. vinifera cv. ‘Muscat Hamburg’, were used to develop a reliable system for evaluating their tolerance to drought–cold stress. This system used tissue −cultured grapevine plants, 6% PEG solution, and gradient cooling mode to simulate drought–cold stress. V. amurensis had a significantly lower LT50 value (the temperature of 50% electrolyte leakage) than ‘Muscat Hamburg’ during simulated drought–cold stress. Thus, the former had higher tolerance than the latter to drought–cold stress based on electrolyte leakage (EL) measurements. Moreover, the chlorophyll fluorescence responses of V. amurensis and ‘Muscat Hamburg’ were also analyzed under drought–cold stress. The maximum photochemical quantum yield of PS II (Fv/Fm) exhibited a significant linear correlationship with EL. The relationship of EL with Fv/Fm in the other four genotypes of grapevines under drought–cold stress was also detected.ConclusionsA novel LT50 estimation model was established, and the LT50 values can be well calculated based on Fv/Fm in replacement of EL measurement. The Fv/Fm–based model exhibits good reliability for evaluating the tolerance of different grapevine genotypes to drought–cold stress.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-015-0459-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Global Transcriptional Analysis Reveals the Complex Relationship between Tea Quality, Leaf Senescence and the Responses to Cold-Drought Combined Stress in Camellia sinensis

“…Fourth and 5th leaf was used for estimating relative electrolyte leakage (REL) and relative water content (RWC), respectively. REL and RWC were determined as described previously (Su et al, 2015). The total RNA was isolated from the 3rd leaf for each treatment group at 15 days as described previously (Zheng et al, 2015).…”

“…Every year, substantial loss of tea production and degradation of tea quality due to leaf senescence can result from a particular or often a combination of different stress conditions (Liu et al, 2015; Wang et al, 2016). In field conditions, cold stress often occurs in conjunction with drought stress, and this combination has been recognized as realistic threats faced by plants in the winter of semi-arid or drought-stricken areas (Su et al, 2015). Previously, a few notable studies demonstrated that stress interactions provoke altogether different signaling events and transcriptional responses that were unpredictable or not seen under either of the single stresses (Rasmussen et al, 2013; Pandey et al, 2015).…”

Improved iron acquisition ofAstragalus sinicusunder low iron-availability conditions by soil-borne bacteriaBurkholderia cepacia

“…The values of malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined by a thiobarbituric acid-based colorimetric method (Heath and Packer 1968). The values of electrolyte leakage (EL) were examined according to the method of Su et al (2015). Activities of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) and glutathione reductase (GR) were measured according to the method of Mostofa et al (2015).…”

2‐Hydroxymelatonin promotes the resistance of rice plant to multiple simultaneous abiotic stresses (combined cold and drought)

“…The combined actions of several stressors inflict more damage than each stress alone . For example, combined drought and heat stressors affect durum wheat growing in semi‐arid areas; in continental regions, grapevines are exposed to concurrent drought and cold stressors during winter . Although responses to single stressors, such as cold, drought, and heat, have been extensively investigated, relatively little is known about plant responses to multiple concurrent stressors .…”