Changes in soluble carbohydrates in polar Caryophyllaceae and Poaceae plants in response to chilling

Abstract Four species of flowering plants comprising Arctic populations of Cerastium alpinum and Poa arctica var. vivipara and indigenous Antarctic species Colobanthus quitensis and Deschampsia antarctica were investigated. Plants derived from natural origins were grown in an experimental greenhouse in Poland (53�470N and 20�300E latitude). Plants for experiment were collected during spring of 2010. Soluble carbohydrates in the intact shoots of C. alpinum and C. quitensis, polar plants of the family Caryophyllaceae, and D. antarctica and P. arctica var. vivipara, representatives of the family Poaceae, were analyzed by gas chromatography, and their involvement in the plants’ response to chilling stress was examined. Plant tissues of the examined families growing in a greenhouse conditions (18–20 �C, short day 10/14 h light/darkness) differed in the content and composition of soluble carbohydrates. In addition to common monosaccharides, myo-inositol and sucrose, Caryophyllaceae plants contained raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs), D-pinitol and mono-galactosyl pinitols. RFOs and D-pinitol were not detected in plants of the family Poaceae which contain 1-kestose, a specific tri-saccharide. The accumulation of significant quantities of sucrose in all investigated plants, RFOs in Caryophyllaceae plants and 1-kestose in Poaceae plants in response to chilling stress(4 �C for 48 h with a long day photoperiod, 20/4 h) indicates that those compounds participate in the stress response. The common sugar accumulating in cold stress response and probably most important for chilling tolerance of four investigated plants species seems to be sucrose. On the other hand, the accumulation of above-mentioned carbohydrates during chilling stress can be a return to sugars metabolism, occurring in natural environmental conditions. No changes in D-pinitol concentrations were observed in the tissues of C. alpinum and C. quitensis plants subjected to both low and elevated temperatures, which probably rules out the protective effects of D-pinitol in response to cold stress

The metabolism of ageing seeds: changes in the raffinose family oligosaccharides during storage of field bean (Vicia faba var. minor Harz) seeds

Seeds of field bean cv. Nadwiślański harvested in 1980, 1986 and 1992 were studied. Results of investigations showed that the four analysed sugars (saccharine, verbascose, raffinose and stachyose) made up from 60.1 mg of 1 g dry matter of seeds harvested in 1992 to 67 mg of seeds collected in 1986. After three years of storage in laboratory conditions we observed a decline of the amount of these oligosaccharides. The saccharose:raffinose family oligosaccharides ratio grows with the seed age

Effect of exogenous abscisic acid on accumulation of raffinose family oligosaccharides and galactosyl cyclitols in tiny vetch seeds (Vicia hirsuta [L.] S.F. Gray)

The role of the abscisic acid (ABA) in biosynthesis of raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) and galactosyl cyclitols (Gal-C) in tiny vetch (Vicia hirsuta [L.] S.F. Gray) seeds was investigated. The ABA was applied through incubation of seed at various stage of its development. The level of RFOs and Gal-C was determined in seed maturing on plant and in seed maturing in vitro. In early stages of V. hirsuta seed development, the ABA activated the biosynthesis of galactinol, although the level of arisen galactinol quickly declined. In the later stages of V. hirsuta seed development ABA had stimulatory effect of RFOs and Gal-C biosynthesis. Influence of ABA on biosynthesis of a-galactosides in Vicia hirsuta seed seems to be dependent on abscisic acid concentration. Low concentration of ABA had stimulatory effect on a-galactosides biosynthesis, but high concentration of ABA inhibited the process

Analyses of Antioxidative Properties of Selected Cyclitols and Their Mixtures with Flavanones and Glutathione

The conditions for determining the antioxidant properties of cyclitols (d-pinitol, l-quebrachitol, myo-, l-chiro-, and d-chiro-inositol), selected flavanones (hesperetin, naringenin, eriodictyol, and liquiritigenin) and glutathione by spectrophotometric methods—CUPRAC and with DPPH radical, and by a chromatographic method DPPH-UHPLC-UV, have been identified. Interactions of the tested compounds and their impact on the ox-red properties were investigated. The RSA (%) of the compounds tested was determined. Very low antioxidative properties of cyclitols, compared with flavanones and glutathione alone, were revealed. However, a significant increase in the determined antioxidative properties of glutathione by methyl-ether derivatives of cyclitols (d-pinitol and l-quebrachitol) was demonstrated for the first time. Thus, cyclitols seem to be a good candidate for creating drugs for the treatment of many diseases associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation

Cadmium-Induced Changes in the Accumulation of Sugars and the <i>PsGolS</i> Transcript in <i>Pisum sativum</i> L.

Cadmium (Cd) is a key stress factor that affects plant development. To examine the influence of Cd stress, we analysed the tissue localisation of polysaccharides (Periodic Acid Schiff reaction), qualitative and quantitative changes in soluble carbohydrates (High-Resolution Gas Chromatography), and the expression of the galactinol synthase (PsGolS) and raffinose synthase (PsRS) genes in 4-week-old Pisum sativum L. ‘Pegaz’. The plants were treated with 10, 50, 100, and 200 µM CdSO4 for one week and analysed on the 1st, 7th, and 28th days after Cd application. Pea as an excluder plant accumulated Cd mainly in the roots. Cd induced starch grain storage in the stems and the accumulation of soluble carbohydrates in roots and shoots after 28 days of Cd treatment. In controls, soluble carbohydrate levels decreased during the plant growth. In addition, Cd increased galactinol and raffinose levels, indicating their important role in response to Cd stress in peas. Moreover, the analysis confirmed that the expression of PsGolS was induced by Cd. Overall, the results of the distribution of carbohydrates in pea plants, together with the inhibition of seed production by Cd, indicate that plants tend to allocate energy to stress response mechanisms rather than to reproductive processes

Accumulation of Anthocyanins in Detached Leaves of <i>Kalanchoë blossfeldiana</i>: Relevance to the Effect of Methyl Jasmonate on This Process

Accumulation of anthocyanins in detached leaves and in excised stems of Kalanchoë blossfeldiana kept under natural light conditions in the presence or absence of methyl jasmonate (JA-Me) was investigated. When the abaxial surface of detached leaves was held lower than the adaxial surface (the normal or natural position) under natural light conditions, anthocyanins were not accumulated on the abaxial side of the leaves. In contrast, when the adaxial surface of detached leaves was held lower than the abaxial surface (inverted position), anthocyanins were highly accumulated on the abaxial side of the leaves. These phenomena were independent of the growth stage of K. blossfeldiana as well as photoperiod. Application of JA-Me in lanolin paste significantly inhibited anthocyanin accumulation induced on the abaxial side of detached leaves held in an inverted position in a dose-dependent manner. Anthocyanin accumulation in the excised stem in response to natural light was also significantly inhibited by JA-Me in lanolin paste. Possible mechanisms of anthocyanin accumulation on the abaxial side of detached K. blossfeldiana leaves held in an inverted position under natural light conditions and the inhibitory effect of JA-Me on this process are described. The accompanying changes in the content of primary metabolites and histological analyses were also described