The potential of nitric oxide for reducing oxidative damage induced by drought stress in two turfgrass species, creeping bentgrass and tall fescue

Abstract

Drought stress is a major factor‐limiting grass growth. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) increases under stress conditions and causes cell oxidative damage. This study investigated the effect of sodium nitroprusside [a nitric oxide (NO) donor] treatment on drought stress in two turfgrass species, creeping bentgrass and tall fescue. Physiological characteristics such as relative water content (RWC), ion leakage, chlorophyll and proline content, and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) were evaluated after 40 d drought stress and in the recovery stage. Results showed that nitric oxide (NO) treatment, especially 150 μm, could maintain significantly higher RWC and reduce ion leakage under drought stress conditions in both species. Furthermore, both turfgrass species showed higher chlorophyll and proline content after drought stress period when sprayed with NO, while chlorophyll and proline content of control plants declined. Drought stress significantly reduced SOD and APX activity, while NO treatment induced higher SOD and APX activity under drought conditions. After recovery, leaf RWC returned to the control level; however, NO‐sprayed plants showed higher RWC compared to controls. Both turfgrass species exhibited lower chlorophyll content at the recovery stage when exposed to severe drought stress, and NO application increased chlorophyll content compared to controls. No significant differences were found between NO treatment and control plants for proline and SOD activity, but APX activity of NO‐sprayed plants was higher than in the control plants. These results suggest that foliar application of NO may alleviate drought stress in turfgrass by maintaining membrane stability and inducing antioxidant enzyme activity.

NO to drought-multifunctional role of nitric oxide in plant drought: Do we have all the answers?

“…However, all these protective functions were abolished by treatment with a NO scavenger. The effect of SNP was recently investigated in two turf grass species-Agrostis stolonifera and Lolium arundinaceum, where it could maintain significantly higher relative water content and reduced ion leakage during drought stress [37]. NO treatment resulted in higher superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity under drought, while no significant differences were found between treated and control plants for SOD activity during recovery.…”

“…NO treatment resulted in higher superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity under drought, while no significant differences were found between treated and control plants for SOD activity during recovery. Interestingly, APX activity in NO donor-sprayed plants was higher than in the control plants during recovery phase, suggesting stage-specific effects of NO during drought stress [37]. NO can be considered as double-edged sword due to its biphasic effects [35,69] where this duality originates from the presence of …”

“…Nonetheless, uncontrolled NO levels resulting from severe stress conditions can shift the cellular conditions from a mild oxidative stress to a severe nitrosooxidative stress which can lead to cell death[68,70]. Low levels of NO have a potential to enhance the antioxidant capacity and help in cell survival under stress[25,37,39].…”

Enhanced nitric oxide synthesis through nitrate supply improves drought tolerance of sugarcane plants

“…5d). In fact, the activation of antioxidant mechanisms to maintain ROS homeostasis often involves NO (Hatamzadeh et al , 2015; Silveira et al , 2015). Many reports show that exogenous NO improves abiotic stress tolerance, causing decreases in [H 2 O 2 ] and lipid peroxidation (Gross et al , 2013).…”

“…NO synthesis is increased in plants under drought and its role in promoting adaptive responses to cope with water deficit has been suggested (Cai et al , 2015; Silveira et al , 2017a). NO and NO-derived molecules play a critical role in intracellular redox signaling and in the activation of antioxidant defense mechanisms (Shi et al , 2014; Hatamzadeh et al , 2015; Silveira et al , 2015). For example, NO supply conferred drought tolerance to wheat seedlings, reducing membrane damage (Garcia-Mata and Lamattina, 2001).…”