Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Apr 21;11(4):e0154005.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154005. eCollection 2016.

Effects of Cytokinin and Nitrogen on Drought Tolerance of Creeping Bentgrass

Zhihui Chang  1 , Yang Liu  1 , Hui Dong  1 , Ke Teng  1 , Liebao Han  1 , Xunzhong Zhang  2
Affiliations

Effects of Cytokinin and Nitrogen on Drought Tolerance of Creeping Bentgrass

Zhihui Chang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Cytokinin (CK) is a vital plant hormone that controls many aspects of growth and development in plants. Nitrogen (N) is the indispensable macronutrient needed in plants and also one of the most important limiting factors for plant growth. This study was designed to investigate the simultaneous effects of CK and N on the visual turf quality and antioxidant metabolism of drought-stressed creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.). 'PennA-4' creeping bentgrass treated with trans-zeatin riboside at three rates of CK concentrations of 0, 10 and 100 μM (designated by CK0, 10, and 100) and two nitrogen rates with 2.5 and 7.5 kg N·ha-1 every 15 days (designated by low and high N) in a complete factorial arrangement was grown under two soil moisture regimes: well-watered and drought stress. Exogenous CK improved turf quality and delayed leaf wilting under drought stress, especially under high N. The grasses treated with CK10 and CK100 had lower O2- production and H2O2 concentration than those without CK treatment. The CK100 treatment enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), and guaiacol peroxidase (POD) by 25%, 22%, 17% and 24%, respectively, relative to CK0. Moreover, the activity changes of the antioxidant enzyme isoforms were more significant under high N condition relative to low N condition. Our results demonstrated the beneficial impacts of CK and N on physiological reactions, especially antioxidant metabolism, and foliar application of CK at 10 or 100 μM plus 7.5 kg ha-1 N biweekly may improve drought stress resistance of creeping bentgrass.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Effects of cytokinin trans-zeatin riboside (CK) and nitrogen on leaf wilting rate of creeping bentgrass under drought stress.
Different lowercase letter means significant difference (P < 0.05) between treatments on the same day.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in leaves of drought stressed creeping bentgrass as affected by cytokinin trans-zeatin riboside (CK) and nitrogen.
Bars having different letter indicate no significant enzyme activity difference (P < 0.05) between treatments on the same day.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in leaves of drought stressed creeping bentgrass as affected by cytokinin trans-zeatin riboside (CK) and nitrogen.
Bars having different letter indicate no significant enzyme activity difference (P < 0.05) between treatments on the same day.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Activities of catalase (CAT) in leaves of drought stressed creeping bentgrass as affected by cytokinin trans-zeatin riboside (CK) and nitrogen.
Bars having different letter indicate no significant enzyme activity difference (P < 0.05) between treatments on the same day.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Activities of guaiacol peroxidase (POD) in leaves of drought stressed creeping bentgrass as affected by cytokinin and nitrogen.
Bars having different letter indicate no significant enzyme activity difference (P < 0.05) between treatments on the same day.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Native gel stained for the activity of SOD isoforms of drought stressed creeping bentgrass treated with cytokinin trans-zeatin riboside (CK) and nitrogen.
T1 to T6 represent low N + CK0, low N + CK100, low N + CK10, high N + CK0, high N + CK100, high N + CK10 of creeping bentgrass at 40 d, respectively.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Native gel stained for the activity of APX isoforms of drought stressed creeping bentgrass treated with cytokinin trans-zeatin riboside (CK) and nitrogen.
T1 to T6 represent low N + CK0, low N + CK100, low N + CK10, high N + CK0, high N + CK100, high N + CK10 of creeping bentgrass at 40 d, respectively.
Fig 8
Fig 8. Native gel stained for the activity of CAT isoform of drought stressed creeping bentgrass treated with cytokinin trans-zeatin riboside (CK) and nitrogen.
T1 to T6 represent low N + CK0, low N + CK100, low N + CK10, high N + CK0, high N + CK100, high N + CK10 of creeping bentgrass at 40 d, respectively.
Fig 9
Fig 9. Native gel stained for the activity of POD isoforms of drought stressed creeping bentgrass treated with cytokinin trans-zeatin riboside (CK) and nitrogen.
T1 to T6 represent low N + CK0, low N + CK100, low N + CK10, high N + CK0, high N + CK100, high N + CK10 of creeping bentgrass at 40 d, respectively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Chai Q, Jin F, Merewitz E, Huang B. Growth and physiological traits associated with drought survival and post-drought recovery in perennial turfgrass species. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 2010; 135(2): 125–133.
    1. Shinozaki K., Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K. Gene expression and signal transduction in water-stress response. Plant Physiology. 1997; 115(2): 327–334. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huang B, Hongwen G. Physiological responses of diverse tall fescue cultivars to drought stress. Hortscience. 1999; 34(5):897–901.
    1. Jiang Y, Huang B. Effects of drought or heat stress alone and in combination on Kentucky bluegrass. Crop Science. 2000; 40(5): 1358–1362.
    1. Senthil-Kumar M, Kumar G, Srikanthbabu V, Udayakumar M. Assessment of variability in acquired thermotolerance: potential option to study genotypic response and the relevance of stress genes. Journal of Plant Physiology. 2007; 164(2):111–125. - PubMed

Publication types