The role of abscisic acid and low temperature in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) cold tolerance. II. Effects on plasma membrane structure and function

Abstract

The frost hardiness of many plants such as chickpea can be increased by exposure to low non-freezing temperatures and/or the application of abscisic acid (ABA), a process known as frost acclimation. Experiments were conducted to study the response over a 14 d period of enriched plasma membrane fractions isolated from chickpea plants exposed to low temperature and sprayed with exogenous ABA. Measurement of the temperatures inducing 50% foliar cell death (LT50), and subsequent statistical analysis suggest that, like many plants, exposure to low temperatures (5/-2 degrees C; day/night) induces a significant level (P <0.05) of frost acclimation in chickpea when compared with control plants (20/7 degrees C; day/night). Spraying plants with exogenous ABA also increased frost tolerance (P <0.05), but was not as effective as low temperature-induced frost acclimation. Both pre-exposure to low temperatures and pre-treatment with ABA increased the levels of fatty acid desaturation in the plasma membrane (measured as the double bond index, DBI). Exposure of chickpea plants to low temperatures increased the DBI by 15% at day 4 and 19% at day 14 when compared with untreated control plants. Application of ABA alone did not increase the DBI by more than 6% at any time; the effects of both treatments applied together was more than additive, inducing a DBI increase of 27% at day 14 when compared with controls. There was a good correlation (P <0.05) between the DBI and LT50, suggesting that the presence of more unsaturated lipid in the plasma membrane may prevent cell lysis at low temperatures. Both pre-exposure to low, non-freezing temperatures and pre-treatment with ABA induced measurable changes in membrane fluidity, but these changes did not correlate with changes in LT50, suggesting that physical properties of the plasma membrane other than fluidity are involved in frost acclimation in chickpea.

Temperature-dependent impact of 24-epibrassinolide on the fatty acid composition and sugar content in winter oilseed rape callus

“…On the contrary in oilseed rape, BR 27 mimics effect of cold in reference to PL fatty acids. When ABA is applied in combination with exposure to low temperatures is an increase in acyl lipid desaturation observed (Bakht et al 2006). ABA enhances effect of cold in chickpea.…”

“…Changes of the fatty acid composition of membrane lipids as the response to low temperature are described for some plant species (Willemot 1979;Johnson and Williams 1989;Bakht et al 2006). Theoretically, the unsaturation of fatty acids increases as a result of cold treatment.…”

“…Values marked with the same letters are not significantly different according to the multiple Duncan Test, P \ 0.05; n = 5. TR traces, NC not calculated Acta Physiol Plant (2009) 31:71-79 77 by Bakht et al (2006). ABA is involved in the chain of events leading to the adaptation of the plant to stressors including cold temperatures.…”

“…ABA is involved in the chain of events leading to the adaptation of the plant to stressors including cold temperatures. According to literature data both pre-exposure to low temperatures and pre-treatment with ABA increase the levels of fatty acid desaturation in the chickpea plasma membrane (measured as a double bond index) (Bakht et al 2006). Application of ABA alone (20°C) induces significant changes in the acyl lipid composition of the plasma membrane.…”

Opportunities and limitations related to the application of plant-derived lipid molecular proxies in soil science

“…Also, the abundance of membrane fatty acids with 16 and 18 carbons can change as a result of temperature (Maffei et al, 1993;Williams et al, 1995;Matteucci et al, 2011). Under heat stress, the relative abundance of C 16:0 fatty acid was often found to increase, and the abundance of polyunsaturated C 18:3 fatty acid was found to decrease (Larkindale and Huang, 2004;Bakht et al, 2006). Furthermore, effects of temperature were observed for monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, with compounds like limonene and myrcene having a close correlation with temperature, whereas others like 1,8-cineol were not affected by temperature (Maffei et al, 1993).…”