Effects of Alumunium and Ethylene on Solanum Macrocarpon Seedlings

In the present study, the effects of aluminium (Al) combined with ethylene on root length, growth, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), EC 4.3.1.5) activities in Solanum macrocarpon seedlings were investigated. To carry out such investigations, S. macrocarpon seeds were germinated and grown in vitro under Al concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 mM to establish Al toxicity. The population size was five treatments and each treatment was repeated 30 times. Ten replicates were further treated with 1mM ACC and another set of ten replicates were treated 5mM ACC. ACC is an ethylene synthesis precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC). Biomass and the activities of antioxidant defense enzymes, such as SOD, POD, CAT and PAL in S. macrocarpon seedlings were observed. Results indicated that with the increasing Al concentrations, the seed imbibitions rate decreased, the biomass of hypocotyls and radicles decreased gradually. The SOD, POD, CAT and PAL activities in the cotyledons, hypocotyls and radicles were mainly increased. These changes were increased by increasing concentrations ACC.

Keywords: Aluminum, ethylene-precursor, antioxidant