Indução de tolerância à deficiência hídrica na germinação e crescimento inicial de sementes de feijoeiro

Abstract

Plants are always exposed to aggression of biotic and abiotic agents. Their protection pathway is essential, and it would increase the food production. Navy beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L) are of high economic importance and of agronomic value. It is a susceptible crop to temperature and to water stress, what could lead to metabolic alterations as the synthesis of protein defences. The objective of this work was to study the effect of salicylic acid and the cold shock applied to germinating seeds over the water deficit tolerance, during the beginning of the germination process by means of physiological variables and soluble protein expression. Seeds were embedded in moistened paper substrate, half of the sample in water and half in the salicylic acid (0.01mM) in the first 24 hours. Part of both treatments was then subjected to cold shock 24 hours at 7°C. After that all seeds, from both treatments were subjected to different mannitol induced water potentials: 0;-0.3; -0.6 and -1.2 MPa. Water was considered the zero potential. Four combinations were considered: without shock and salicylic acid (SCHSAS), with shock and without salicylic acid (CCHSAS), without shock with salicylic acid (SCHCAS) and with shock and salicylic acid (CCHCAS). Treatments were evaluated by germination, vigour classification, shoot and root dry weight and length, as by the rate shoot/root. After germination evaluation, five normal seedlings were used to protein and another five to proline extraction. Proline was determined in the whole seedling and protein in shoot and in the root, being compared by SDS-PAGE. Results were analyzed as a completely random design in a factorial design (4x4 as a combination of salicylic acid cold shock with the water restriction) by the Tukey s test (P< 5%) for average comparisons and with polynomial regression for water deficit. Electrophoretic patterns were analyzed by absence presence of bands. Germination was not affected by salicylic acid or by the cold shock treatments, but by the increase in the water deficit. Vigour was altered by salicylic acid and by the shock, being the last one affecting positively and the cold shock negatively. Salicylic acid increased length and weight, especially in the intermediary levels of water deficit. Protein expression of the treatments CCHCAS and SCHCAS showed the same electrophorectical patterns for shoot and root, with an increase in the expression for the lower potentials. The pattern of CCHSAS and SCHSAS treatments exhibited some different bands.