Open Access
ARTICLE
GABA Enhances Thermotolerance of Seeds Germination by Attenuating the ROS Damage in Arabidopsis
Qili Zhang, Danni He, Songbei Ying, Shiyan Lu, Jiali Wei, Ping Li*
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Bio-Energy Crops, Research Center for Natural Products, Plant Science Center, School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
* Corresponding Author: Ping Li. Email:
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2020, 89(3), 619-631. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2020.010379
Received 29 February 2020; Accepted 13 April 2020; Issue published 22 June 2020
Abstract
Seeds germination is strictly controlled by environment factor such as
high temperature (HT) through altering the balance between gibberellin acid (GA)
and abscisic acid (ABA). Gama-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a small molecule
with four-carbon amino acid, which plays a crucial role during plant physiological
process associated with pollination, wounding or abiotic stress, but its role in
seeds germination under HT remains elusive. In this study we found that HT
induced the overaccumulation of ROS, mainly H
2O
2 and O
2-
, to suppress seeds
germination, meanwhile, HT also activated the enzyme activity of GAD for the
rapid accumulation of GABA, hinting the regulatory function of GABA in controlling seeds germination against HT stress. Applying GABA directly attenuated
HT-induced ROS accumulation, upregulated GA biosynthesis and downregulated
ABA biosynthesis, ultimately enhanced seeds germination. Consistently, genetic
analysis using the
gad1/2 mutant defective in GABA biosynthesis, or
pop2-5
mutant with high endogenous GABA content supported the potential function
of GABA in improving seeds germination tolerance to HT through scavenging
ROS overaccumulation. Based on these data, we propose that GABA acts as a
novel signal to enhance thermotolerance of seeds germination through alleviating
the ROS damage to seeds viability.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Zhang, Q., He, D., Ying, S., Lu, S., Wei, J. et al. (2020). GABA Enhances Thermotolerance of Seeds Germination by Attenuating the ROS Damage in Arabidopsis.
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, 89(3), 619–631.
Citations