The Effect of White Light Spectrum Modifications by Excess of Blue Light on the Frost Tolerance, Lipid- and Hormone Composition of Barley in the Early Pre-Hardening Phase

Abstract

It is well established that cold acclimation processes are highly influenced, apart from cold ambient temperatures, by light-dependent environmental factors. In this study we investigated whether an extra blue (B) light supplementation would be able to further improve the well-documented freezing tolerance enhancing effect of far-red (FR) enriched white (W) light. The impact of B and FR light supplementation to white light (WFRB) on hormone levels and lipid contents were determined in winter barley at moderate (15 °C) and low (5 °C) temperatures. Low R:FR ratio effectively induced frost tolerance in barley plantlets, but additional B light further enhanced frost hardiness at both temperatures. Supplementation of WFR (white light enriched with FR light) with B had a strong positive effect on abscisic acid accumulation while the suppression of salicylic acid and jasmonic acid levels were observed at low temperature which resembles the shade avoidance syndrome. We also observed clear lipidomic differences between the individual light and temperature treatments. WFRB light changed the total lipid content negatively, but monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) content was increased, nonetheless. Our results prove that WFRB light can greatly influence phytohormone dynamics and lipid contents, which eventually leads to more efficient pre-hardening to avoid frost damage.

Impact of Chilling on Growth and Hormonal Homeostasis of Triticum Aestivum and Triticum Spelta During Initial Stage of Vegetation and After Recovery

“…Guo et al (2023) highlighted that barley plants exhibited disrupted chloroplast ultrastructure, altered starch and sucrose metabolism, reduced antioxidant enzymes activity, and changes in the hormonal regulatory network upon ABA deficiency during early stages (3-leaf phase) exposure to low temperature (0°C, 24 hours). In cold-resistant barley varieties, exposure of chilling (+5°C, one day) significantly increased endogenous ABA content (Ahres et al, 2022).…”