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Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access published online on April 11, 2006
Plant and Cell Physiology, doi:10.1093/pcp/pcj041
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Plant and Cell Physiology 2006 © The Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists (JSPP); all rights reserved.
Received January 20, 2006
Accepted March 20, 2006

Regular Paper

Exogenous Application of Glycinebetaine Increases Chilling Tolerance in Tomato Plants

Eung-Jun Park 1, Zoran Jeknic 2, and Tony H. H. Chen 2 *

1 Department of Horticulture, ALS 4017, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA; Present address: Department of Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chunchon, 200-701, Korea
2 Department of Horticulture, ALS 4017, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Tony H. H. Chen, E-mail: chent{at}hort.oregonstate.edu


  Abstract

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Moneymaker) plants are chilling-sensitive, and do not naturally accumulate glycinebetaine (GB), a metabolite that functions as a stress protectant. We reported previously that exogenous GB application enhanced chilling tolerance in tomato. To better understand its protective role, we have further evaluated various parameters associated with improved tolerance. Although its effect was most pronounced in younger plants, this benefit was diminished one week after GB application. When administered by foliar spray, GB was readily up-taken and translocated to various organs, with the highest levels being measured in meristematic tissues, including the shoot apices and flower buds. In leaves, the majority of endogenous GB was found in the cytosol; only 0.6 to 22.0% of the total leaf GB was localized in chloroplasts. Immediately after GB application, levels of H2O2, catalase activity, and expression of the catalase gene (CAT1) all were higher in GB-treated than in control plants. One day after exposure to chilling stress, the treated plants had significantly greater catalase activity and CAT1 expression, although their H2O2 levels remained unchanged. During the following 2 d of this chilling treatment, GB-treated plants maintained lower H2O2 levels but had higher catalase activity than the controls. These results suggest that, in addition to directly protecting macromolecules and membranes, GB-enhanced chilling tolerance may involve the induction of H2O2-mediated antioxidant mechanisms, e.g., enhanced catalase expression and catalase activity.

Keywords: Catalase; Chilling tolerance; Glycinebetaine; Tomato.
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