Summary• The root endophytic basidiomycete Piriformospora indica has been shown to increase resistance against biotic stress and tolerance to abiotic stress in many plants.• Biochemical mechanisms underlying P. indica-mediated salt tolerance were studied in barley (Hordeum vulgare) with special focus on antioxidants. Physiological markers for salt stress, such as metabolic activity, fatty acid composition, lipid peroxidation, ascorbate concentration and activities of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, dehydroascorbate reductase, monodehydroascorbate reductase and glutathione reductase enzymes were assessed.• Root colonization by P. indica increased plant growth and attenuated the NaCl-induced lipid peroxidation, metabolic heat efflux and fatty acid desaturation in leaves of the salt-sensitive barley cultivar Ingrid. The endophyte significantly elevated the amount of ascorbic acid and increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes in barley roots under salt stress conditions. Likewise, a sustained up-regulation of the antioxidative system was demonstrated in NaCl-treated roots of the salttolerant barley cultivar California Mariout, irrespective of plant colonization by P. indica.• These findings suggest that antioxidants might play a role in both inherited and endophyte-mediated plant tolerance to salinity.

Influence of drought (D) on changes of leaf water potential (Ψ) and parameters of gas exchange in D-resistant and D-sensitive genotypes of triticale and maize was compared. Soil D (from -0.01 to -2.45 MPa) was simulated by mannitol solutions. At -0.013 MPa significant differences in Ψ, net photosynthetic rate (P N ), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (g s ), and internal CO 2 concentration (C i ) of D-resistant and D-sensitive triticale and maize genotypes were not found. Together with the increase in concentration of the mannitol solution the impact of D on E and g s for D-sensitive genotypes (CHD-12, Ankora) became lower than for the D-resistant ones (CHD-247, Tina). Inversely, impact of D on Ψ was higher in D-sensitive than D-resistant genotypes. From 1 to 3 d of D, a higher decrease in P N was observed in D-resistant genotypes than in the D-sensitive ones. Under prolonged D (5-14 d) and simultaneous more severe D the decrease in P N was lower in D-resistant than in D-sensitive genotypes. Changes in Ψ, P N , E, and g s caused by D in genotypes differing in the drought susceptibility were similar for triticale and maize. Compared to control plants, increase of C i was different for triticale and maize genotypes. Hence one of the physiological reasons of different susceptibility to D between sensitive and resistant genotypes is more efficient protection of tissue water status in resistant genotypes reflected in higher decrease in g s and limiting E compared to the sensitive ones. Other reason, observed in D-resistant genotypes during the recovery from D-stress, was more efficient removal of detrimental effects of D.

Seedlings of winter rape were cultured in vitro on media containing 24-epibrassinolide, EBR (100 nM) and cadmium (300 µM). After 14 d of growth, fast fluorescence kinetics of chlorophyll (Chl) a and contents of photosynthetic pigments and Cd in cotyledons were measured. Cd was strongly accumulated but its content in cotyledons was 14.7 % smaller in the presence of EBR. Neither Cd nor EBR influenced the contents of Chl a and b and carotenoids. Cd lowered the specific energy fluxes per excited cross section (CS) of cotyledon. The number of active reaction centres (RC) of photosystem 2 (RC/CS) decreased by about 21.0 % and the transport of photosynthetic electrons (ET 0 /CS) by about 17.1 %. Simultaneously, under the influence of Cd, the activity of O 2 evolving centres (OEC) diminished by about 19.5 % and energy dissipation (DI 0 /CS) increased by about 14.6 %. In the cotyledons of seedlings grown on media without Cd, EBR induced only a small increase in the activity of most photochemical reactions per CS. However, EBR strongly affected seedlings cultured with cadmium. Specific energy fluxes TR 0 /CS and ET 0 /CS of the cotyledons of plants Cd+EBR media were about 10.9 and 20.9 % higher, respectively, than values obtained for plants grown with Cd only. EBR also limited the increase of DI 0 /CS induced by Cd and simultaneously protected the complex of OEC against a decrease of activity. Hence EBR reduces the toxic effect of Cd on photochemical processes by diminishing the damage of photochemical RCs and OECs as well as maintaining efficient photosynthetic electron transport.

A systematic study of the reduction of (ImH)[trans-RuCl(4)(dmso)(Im)] (NAMI-A; dmso is dimethyl sulfoxide, Im is imidazole), a promising antimetastasing agent, by L-ascorbic acid under physiological conditions is reported. Under blood plasma conditions (pH 7.4, 0.1-0.15 M NaCl , 37 degrees C) the rapid reduction of trans-[Ru(III)Cl(4)(dmso)(Im)](-) results in the formation of trans-[Ru(II)Cl(4)(dmso)(Im)](2-) within seconds, and is followed by successive dissociation of the chloride ligands, whereas neither dmso nor imidazole ligands are released during the reaction. Under our experimental conditions, the formation of the ascorbate dianion is the rate-determining step, and once it has formed it reacts rapidly with NAMI-A. Moreover, the NAMI-A complex is very unstable at physiological pH (7.4); therefore, the hydrolysis of NAMI-A cannot be excluded as a competing reaction. During hydrolysis, aquated derivatives via stepwise dissociation of chloride and dmso ligands are formed, and most of these species have a higher redox potential and are expected to be even more easily reduced by ascorbic acid. Thus, it is very likely that the reduced form of NAMI-A or the reduction products of its hydrolytic derivatives react with albumin. The reaction of reduced NAMI-A with human serum albumin leads to the formation of stable adducts, with a binding efficiency very similar to that of the parent complex, viz., 3.2+/-0.3 and 4.0+/-0.4 mol of Ru(II) and Ru(III) per mole of albumin, respectively, however with a significantly higher reactivity.