Response of the pear rootstock to boron and salinity in vitro

Abstract

The effects of boron and NaCl induced salinity on growth and mineral composition of the pear (Pyrus communis L.) rootstock OH × F 333 shoots cultured in vitro were investigated. Shoots were grown in vitro for seven weeks on a Murashige and Skoog medium containing two B concentrations (0.1 and 2 mM) combined with five NaCl concentrations (0, 10, 20, 40, and 80 mM). Τhe longest shoots were produced at 0.1 mM B and 80 mM NaCl, but highest number of shoots were produced at 0.1 mM B and 0 -20 mM NaCl. Inclusion of 20 and 40 mM NaCl in the culture medium significantly increased fresh mass of cultures compared to 0 mM NaCl for all B concentrations tested. The concentrations of P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Mn and Zn of plants were affected by B and NaCl concentration of the medium.

Effect of NaCl and CaCl2 on the antioxidant mechanism of leaves and stems of the rootstock CAB-6P (Prunus cerasus L.) under in vitro conditions

“…Similar observations were made by Sotiropoulos (2007) for apple explants grown in media containing CaCl 2 . In agreement to the results for the pear rootstock OHF333 (Sotiropoulos et al 2006), Mg 2+ concentration in CAB-6P explants was not affected by NaCl concentration in the medium. Manganese concentration of the explants treated with 60 mM CaCl 2 was reduced, which is also in line with the report of Sotiropoulos et al (2006).…”

“…In agreement to the results for the pear rootstock OHF333 (Sotiropoulos et al 2006), Mg 2+ concentration in CAB-6P explants was not affected by NaCl concentration in the medium. Manganese concentration of the explants treated with 60 mM CaCl 2 was reduced, which is also in line with the report of Sotiropoulos et al (2006). As concerns Fe, its acquisition was also reduced in NaCl-stressed sour orange explants (Shiyab et al 2003).…”

Effect of boron supply on nitrate concentration and its reduction in roots and leaves of tobacco plants

“…Although in recent years attention is being paid to the toxic effects of boron (Gunes et al 2007), especially when combined to salinity (Edelstein et al 2005, Bishnoi et al 2006, Sotiropoulos et al 2006b), B deficiency is also a significant nutritional disorder since it causes impairments in several metabolic and physiological processes (Brown et al 2002, Bolanos et al 2004. Due to the difficulty to ascertain which of these responses are of primary or secondary nature , direct physiological effects of B in plant nutrition remain still undiscovered, although there is evidence for a direct role of B in cross-linking of cell wall rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II) and pectin assembly, which shows that B is essential for both cell wall structure and function (O'Neill et al 2004).…”

Responses of the cherry rootstock to salinity in vitro

“…Growth reduction is an early phenomenon and a common response in woody plants to salt stress both in vitro and in vivo (Vijayan et al 2003). According to Sotiropoulos et al (2006b) explants are stressed in two ways under in vitro salinity: by the increase in osmotic potential of culture media as a result of high solute content, and by the toxic effects of high concentrations of ions. The chemical potential of the saline media initially establishes a water potential imbalance between the apoplast and symplast that leads to decrease in pressure potential, which might cause growth reduction (Bohnert et al 1995).…”