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DNA methylation and physio-biochemical analysis of chickpea in response to cold stress

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Abstract

Cold stress (CS) signals are translated into physiological changes as products of direct and/or indirect of gene expression regulated by different factors like DNA methylation. In this study, some of these factors were comparatively studied in two chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes (Sel96Th11439, cold-tolerant genotype, and ILC533, cold susceptible one) under control (23 °C) and days 1, 3, and 6 after exposing the seedlings to CS (4 °C). Under CS, tolerant genotype prevented H2O2 accumulation which led to a decrease in damage indices (malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage index) compared to susceptible one. The significant activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, guaiacol peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase) along with a significant proportion of change in DNA methylation/demethylation patterns were often effective factors in preserving cell against cold-induced oxidative stress. Chickpea cells in response to CS changed access to their genome as the number of bands without change from day 1 to day 6 of exposure to CS particularly in tolerant genotype was decreased. During CS, the methylation level was higher compared to demethylation (29.05 vs 19.79 %) in tolerant genotype and (27.92 vs 22.09 %) in susceptible one. However, for prolonged periods of CS, changes in demethylated bands in tolerant genotype were higher than that of in susceptible one (9.24 vs 4.13 %), indicating higher potential for activation of CS responsive genes. Such a status along with higher activity of antioxidants and less damage indices could be related to cold tolerance (CT) mechanisms in chickpea. Sequencing analysis confirmed the important role of some specific DNA sequences in creating CT with possible responsive components involved in CS. Thus, dynamic assessment using multi-dimensional approaches allows us to progressively fill in the gaps between physio-biochemical and molecular events in creating CT, to comprehend better the nature of the plant stress response and molecular mechanisms behind.

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Abbreviations

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

AsA:

Ascorbate

CAT:

Catalase

CT:

Cold tolerance

CS:

Cold stress

ELI:

Electrolyte leakage index

FM:

Fresh mass

GPX:

Guaiacol peroxidase

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

PPO:

Polyphenol oxidase

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

MSAP:

Methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported, in part, by Grants from Iran National Science Foundation, Presidential Office (No.91000942).

Conflict of interest

Authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, 31587-77871, Karaj, Iran

    Aida Rakei, Reza Maali-Amiri & Hassan Zeinali

  2. Faculty of Biotechnology, Amol University of Special Modern Technologies, Amol, 46168-49767, Iran

    Mojtaba Ranjbar

Authors
  1. Aida Rakei
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  2. Reza Maali-Amiri
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  3. Hassan Zeinali
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  4. Mojtaba Ranjbar
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Correspondence to Reza Maali-Amiri.

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Rakei, A., Maali-Amiri, R., Zeinali, H. et al. DNA methylation and physio-biochemical analysis of chickpea in response to cold stress. Protoplasma 253, 61–76 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-015-0788-3

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