Morpho-Physiological and Molecular Evaluation of Drought and Recovery in <i>Impatiens walleriana</i> Grown Ex Vitro
Marija Đurić,
Angelina Subotić,
Ljiljana Prokić,
Milana Trifunović-Momčilov,
Aleksandar Cingel,
Milorad Vujičić,
Snežana Milošević
Affiliations
Marija Đurić
Department of Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Angelina Subotić
Department of Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Ljiljana Prokić
Department for Agrochemistry and Physiology of Plants, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia
Milana Trifunović-Momčilov
Department of Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Aleksandar Cingel
Department of Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Milorad Vujičić
Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Snežana Milošević
Department of Plant Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
This study was carried out to examine the drought effect on development, physiological, biochemical and molecular parameters in Impatiens walleriana grown ex vitro. Experiment design included three treatments: Control plants—grown under optimal watering (35%–37% of soil moisture content), drought-stressed plants—non-irrigated to reach 15% and 5% of soil moisture content and recovery plants—rehydrated for four days to reach optimal soil moisture content. Drought reduced fresh weight, total leaf area, as well as dry weight of I. walleriana shoots. Drought up-regulated expression of abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis genes 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase 4 (NCED4) and abscisic aldehyde oxidase 2 (AAO2) and catabolic gene ABA 8′-hydroxylase 3 (ABA8ox3) which was followed by increased ABA content in the leaves. Decrement in water potential of shoots during the drought was not accompanied with increased amino acid proline content. We detected an increase in chlorophyll, carotenoid, total polyphenols and flavonols content under drought conditions, as well as malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide and DPPH (1,1′-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) activity. Increased antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase) throughout drought were also determined. Recovery treatment was significant for neutralizing drought effect on growth parameters, shoot water potential, proline content and genes expression.
