Skip to main content
PMC home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1987 Jul;84(3):692–695. doi: 10.1104/pp.84.3.692

Evaluation of Polyamine and Proline Levels during Low Temperature Acclimation of Citrus 1

Mosbah M Kushad 1,2, George Yelenosky 1,2
PMCID: PMC1056652  PMID: 16665504

Abstract

The polyamines (PA) putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), and spermine (Spm) were measured during 3 weeks exposure to cold hardening (15.6°C day and 4.4°C night) and nonhardening (32.2°C day and 21.1°C night) temperature regimes in three citrus cultivars: sour orange (SO) (Citrus aurantium L.), `valencia' (VAL) (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck), and rough lemon (RL) (Citrus jambhiri Lush). The changes in PA were compared to the amount of free proline, percent wood kill and percent leaf kill. A 2- to 3-fold increase in Spd concentrations were observed in hardened RL, SO, and VAL leaves compared to nonhardened leaves. Spermidine reached its highest level of approximately 200 nanomoles per gram fresh weight after 1 week of acclimation in both SO and VAL leaves, while RL spermidine content continued to increase up to the third week of acclimation. Spm levels in acclimated VAL and RL leaves increased 1- to 4-fold. However, SO leaves Spm content decreased with acclimation. Putrescine levels in SO and VAL increased 20 to 60% during the first 2 weeks of acclimation then declined after 3 weeks. RL putrescine content was not affected by cold acclimation. The data presented here provided direct relationship between increased Spd concentration and citrus cold hardiness. Free proline was 3- to 6-fold higher in acclimated than in nonacclimated trees. Results also demonstrate that in acclimated versus nonacclimated citrus trees the absolute amount rather than the ratio of increase in free proline is more important in predicting their ability to survive freezing stress.

Full text

PDF
692

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Altman A., Kaur-Sawhney R., Galston A. W. Stabilization of Oat Leaf Protoplasts through Polyamine-mediated Inhibition of Senescence. Plant Physiol. 1977 Oct;60(4):570–574. doi: 10.1104/pp.60.4.570. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Flores H. E., Galston A. W. Analysis of polyamines in higher plants by high performance liquid chromatography. Plant Physiol. 1982 Mar;69(3):701–706. doi: 10.1104/pp.69.3.701. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Flores H. E., Galston A. W. Polyamines and plant stress: activation of putrescine biosynthesis by osmotic shock. Science. 1982 Sep 24;217(4566):1259–1261. doi: 10.1126/science.217.4566.1259. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fuchigami L. H., Evert D. R., Weiser C. J. A translocatable cold hardiness promoter. Plant Physiol. 1971 Jan;47(1):164–167. doi: 10.1104/pp.47.1.164. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kaur-Sawhney R., Shih L. M., Flores H. E., Galston A. W. Relation of polyamine synthesis and titer to aging and senescence in oat leaves. Plant Physiol. 1982 Feb;69(2):405–410. doi: 10.1104/pp.69.2.405. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. McDonald R. E., Kushad M. M. Accumulation of Putrescine during Chilling Injury of Fruits. Plant Physiol. 1986 Sep;82(1):324–326. doi: 10.1104/pp.82.1.324. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Muhitch M. J., Fletcher J. S. Influence of culture age and spermidine treatment on the accumulation of phenolic compounds in suspension cultures. Plant Physiol. 1985 May;78(1):25–28. doi: 10.1104/pp.78.1.25. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. RICHARDS F. J., COLEMAN R. G. Occurrence of putrescine in potassium-deficient barley. Nature. 1952 Sep 13;170(4324):460–460. doi: 10.1038/170460a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Smith T. A. The occurrence, metabolism and functions of amines in plants. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 1971 May;46(2):201–241. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.1971.tb01182.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Weinstein L. H., Kaur-Sawhney R., Rajam M. V., Wettlaufer S. H., Galston A. W. Cadmium-induced accumulation of putrescine in oat and bean leaves. Plant Physiol. 1986;82:641–645. doi: 10.1104/pp.82.3.641. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Yelenosky G. Accumulation of Free Proline in Citrus Leaves during Cold Hardening of Young Trees in Controlled Temperature Regimes. Plant Physiol. 1979 Sep;64(3):425–427. doi: 10.1104/pp.64.3.425. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Young N. D., Galston A. W. Putrescine and Acid Stress : Induction of Arginine Decarboxylase Activity and Putrescine Accumulation by Low pH. Plant Physiol. 1983 Apr;71(4):767–771. doi: 10.1104/pp.71.4.767. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES