Metabolismo de prolina e síntese de compostos fenólicos em plantas transgênicas de tabaco (Nicotiana tabacum) submetidas ao déficit hídrico

Abstract

The association between proline metabolism in the plant and the pentose phosphate pathway has been proposed as a model to stimulate one of the biosynthetic routes of secondary metabolism related to the production of the different phenolic compounds in plants, known as the shikimic acid pathway. In transgenic plants in which overexpression of the P5CS gene Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase encoding the key enzyme of proline biosynthesis occurs, in addition to increased tolerance to abiotic stresses, there is the possibility of promoting the synthesis of phenolic compounds as a pleiotropic effect. The objective of this work was to evaluate the role of proline "per se" in relation to the production of phenolic compounds in transgenic tobacco plants accumulating this amino acid (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Petit Havana SR1) and to verify if water stress would modify this answer. The experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions, at Campus II of Universidade do Oeste Paulista, Presidente Prudente - SP. A completely randomized design was used in the factorial scheme 3x2 consisting of 3 genotypes (two transgenic events with constitutive expression 35S::P5CSF129A and untransformed control plants) and two levels of water regime, with daily water replenishment of 100% and 30% of field capacity (water stress). The role of proline "per se" was evaluated by means of biometric growth analyzes (plant height, shoot and root dry mass and leaf number) in addition to proline analyzes, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity (G6PDH), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), total phenolic compounds in leaves and lignin. In a natural response to water stress, a reduction in biometric parameters was observed for all genotypes. The accumulation of proline occurred in a greater proportion in the transgenic plants as expected by the constitutive expression of the P5CS gene, but the activity of the G6PDH enzyme was lower in the transgenic plants. The link between increased proline endogenous content and increased phenol synthesis occurred both under normal hydration conditions (for E2 event) and in the presence of water stress (for both transgenic events), as well as PAL activity. Lignin contents increased in all genotypes in response to stress. Thus, the results of this research lead us to affirm the existence of distinct responses between exogenous application of proline reported in the literature and endogenous cellular metabolism. It was not possible to confirm the hypothesis that the proline metabolism linked to the pentose phosphate pathway induces the synthesis of phenolic compounds, since the activity of the G6PDH enzyme was lower in the transgenic plants in the two water conditions. It is suggested that the precursors to the pathway of phenolic compounds linked to proline may be provided by other metabolic pathways such as glycolysis and the Calvin cycle. Further study will be needed to clarify this issue.