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Physiological and epigenetic analyses of Brassica napus seed germination in response to salt stress

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Abstract

Salinity stress significantly affects plant growth and development because of osmotic stress, ion toxicity, and nutrient imbalance. Therefore, salinity stress becomes a serious threat to rapeseed production in agriculture. Plants evolved a series of complex mechanisms, including morphological changes, physiological adjustment, and gene expression regulation, at a molecular level to adapt to salt stress. Epigenetic regulations, including DNA methylation and histone modification, play a major role in tuning gene expression in plant response to environmental stimuli. Although many progresses have been reported in plant response to salt stress, the epigenetic changes in Brassica napus under salt stress are far from being understood. A series of physiological parameters, including water content, proline content, malondialdehyde content, electrolyte leakage, and antioxidant enzyme activities, under different concentrations (0, 25, 50, and 100 mM) of NaCl treatment in “Yangyou 9” was determined at the germination stage. Immunofluorescent staining and high-performance liquid chromatography-assisted quantification were conducted to analyze the level and distribution patterns of DNA and histone methylation under salt stress. Results of morphological and physiological analyses under salt stress indicated that 25 mM NaCl treatment promoted the growth of “Yangyou 9” seedlings, whereas 50 and 100 mM NaCl treatments inhibited the growth of “Yangyou 9” seedlings. Epigenetic investigations showed that 25 mM NaCl mediated the enrichment of H3K4me3, as well as decreases in H3K9me2 and 5-methylcytosine (5-mC), whereas 50 and 100 mM NaCl induced increases in H3K9me2 and 5-mC and a decrease in H3K4me3. Overall, this study offers new insights into the epigenetic changes in salt stress response in rapeseed, and this information would be propitious to engineer crops with enhanced salt tolerance.

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Abbreviations

5-mC:

5-Methylcytosine

BSA:

Bovine serum albumin

CAT:

Catalase

EDTA:

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

NBT:

Nitro blue tetrazolium

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

Pro:

Proline

POD:

Peroxidase

qPCR:

Quantitative real-time RT-PCR

REL:

Relative electrolyte leakage

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

TBA:

Thiobarbituric acid

WC:

Water content

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 31330057, 31501335), the Jiangsu Province Science Foundation (Grants BK20140478, BK20150441), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2016T90511, 2015M570482), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    Yujie Fang, Jian Li, Jinjin Jiang, Yulu Geng, Jinglei Wang & Youping Wang

  2. Provincial Key Laboratory of Agrobiology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China

    Yujie Fang

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  1. Yujie Fang
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  2. Jian Li
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  3. Jinjin Jiang
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Correspondence to Youping Wang.

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Communicated by S. Weidner.

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Fang, Y., Li, J., Jiang, J. et al. Physiological and epigenetic analyses of Brassica napus seed germination in response to salt stress. Acta Physiol Plant 39, 128 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-017-2427-4

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