Effects of soil drying and subsequent re-watering on the activity of nitrate reductase in roots and leaves of Helianthus annuus
2004
Azedo-Silva, João | Osório, Júlio | Fonseca, Filomena | Correia, Maria João
The effects of drought on the activity of nitrate reductase (NR) were studied in Helianthus annuus L. plants subjected to soil drying and subsequent rewatering. Drought did not negatively affect the activation state of NR, but resulted in linearly correlated decreases in the activity of the unphosphorilated active form and the total activity of NR, both in roots and leaves. The concentration of nitrate in roots, xylem and leaves also decreased in waterstressed plants, whereas the concentration of total amino acids was only transiently depressed at the leaf level. In contrast, soluble sugars accumulated both in roots and leaves of waterstressed plants. Drought-induced decrease in root NR activity was correlated with the observed changes in root nitrate concentration. A higher percentage of the decrease in foliar NR activity could be explained by the decline in nitrate flux to the leaves than by leaf nitrate content. Following rewatering, the extent of recovery of NR activity was higher in roots than in leaves. The delay in the recovery of foliar NR activity did not result from the persistence of reduced flux of nitrate through the xylem. Several hypotheses to explain the after-effect of soil drying on foliar NR activity are discussed.
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