Regulation of invertase activity in different root zones of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings in the course of osmotic adjustment under water deficit conditions

Osmotic adjustment of roots is an essential adaptive mechanism to sustain water uptake and root growth under water deficit. In this paper, the role of invertases (β-fructofuranosidase, EC 3.2.1.26) in osmotic adjustment was investigated in the root tips (cell division and elongation zone) and the root maturation zone of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Josef) in the course of osmotic stress imposed by 20% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000. The two root zones investigated differed distinctly in the response of invertases to water deprivation. In the root tips, the activity of the vacuolar and cell wall-bound invertases increased markedly under water stress resulting in the accumulation of hexoses (glucose and fructose) that contributed significantly to osmotic adjustment. A transient rise in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) preceded the enhancement of invertases upon exposure to osmotic stress. Treatment with the NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenylene iodonium (DPI) abolished the stress induced H2O2 production and suppressed the stimulation of the vacuolar invertase activity, whereas the activity of the cell wall-bound invertase was not influenced by DPI. As a consequence of the inhibitory effect of DPI on the vacuolar invertase, hexose levels and osmotic adjustment were also markedly decreased in the root tips under water deficit in the presence of DPI. These data suggest that H2O2 probably generated by a NADPH oxidase is required as a signalling molecule for the up-regulation of the vacuolar invertase activity in the root tips under osmotic stress, thereby enhancing the capacity for osmotic adjustment. In the root maturation zone, an early H2O2 signal could not be detected in response to PEG application. Only an increase in the glucose level that was not paralleled by fructose and a slight stimulation of the activity of the vacuolar invertase occurred in the maturation zone after water deprivation. The stress induced accumulation of glucose in the maturation zone was not affected by DPI and thus seems to be not regulated by NADPH oxidase-derived H2O2. Altogether, osmotic adjustment was considerably smaller in the maturation zone than in the root tips.