Reduced nitric oxide levels during drought stress promote drought tolerance in barley and is associated with elevated polyamine biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Nitric oxide (NO) is a key messenger in plant stress responses but its exact role in drought response remains unclear. To investigate the role of NO in drought response we employed transgenic barley plants (UHb) overexpressing the barley non-symbiotic hemoglobin gene HvHb1 that oxidizes NO to NO₃^-. Reduced NO production under drought conditions in UHb plants was associated with increased drought tolerance. Since NO biosynthesis has been related to polyamine metabolism, we investigated whether the observed drought-related NO changes could involve polyamine pathway. UHb plants showed increases in total polyamines and in particular polyamines such as spermidine. These increases correlated with the accumulation of the amino acid precursors of polyamines and with the expre

SUBMITTER: Montilla-Bascon G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5645388 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature