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. 2022 Nov 14;23(22):14043.
doi: 10.3390/ijms232214043.

Physiological Adaptation Mechanisms to Drought and Rewatering in Water-Saving and Drought-Resistant Rice

Lele Wang  1 , Xuenan Zhang  1 , Yehong She  1 , Chao Hu  1 , Quan Wang  1 , Liquan Wu  1   2 , Cuicui You  1 , Jian Ke  1 , Haibing He  1
Affiliations

Physiological Adaptation Mechanisms to Drought and Rewatering in Water-Saving and Drought-Resistant Rice

Lele Wang et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Water-saving and drought-resistant rice (WDR) has high a yield potential in drought. However, the photosynthetic adaptation mechanisms of WDR to drought and rehydration have yet to be conclusively determined. Hanyou 73 (HY73, WDR) and Huanghuazhan (HHZ, drought-sensitive cultivar) rice cultivars were subjected to drought stress and rewatering when the soil water potential was −180 KPa in the booting stage. The leaf physiological characteristics were dynamically determined at 0 KPa, −30 KPa, −70 KPa, −180 KPa, the first, the fifth, and the tenth day after rewatering. It was found that the maximum net photosynthetic rate (Amax) and light saturation point were decreased under drought conditions in both cultivars. The change in dark respiration rate (Rd) in HY73 was not significant, but was markedly different in HHZ. After rewatering, the photosynthetic parameters of HY73 completely returned to the initial state, while the indices in HHZ did not recover. The antioxidant enzyme activities and osmoregulatory substance levels increased with worsening drought conditions and decreased with rewatering duration. HY73 had higher peroxidase (POD) activity as well as proline levels, and lower catalase (CAT) activity, ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) level, and soluble protein (SP) content during all of the assessment periods compared with HHZ. In addition, Amax was markedly negatively correlated with superoxide dismutase (SOD), POD, CAT, and SP in HY73 (p < 0.001), while in HHZ, it was negatively correlated with SOD, CAT, APX, MDA, Pro, and SP, and positively correlated with Rd (p < 0.001). These results suggest that WDR has a more simplified adaptation mechanism to protect photosynthetic apparatus from damage in drought and rehydration compared with drought-sensitive cultivars. The high POD activity and great SP content would be considered as important physiological bases to maintain high photosynthetic production potential in WDR.

Keywords: antioxidant enzymes; drought stress; osmoregulatory substances; photosynthetic physiology; rice.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relative water content in rice leaves under different water conditions at the booting stage: RW: regular watering; MD: moderate drought; HD: severe drought; ED: extreme drought; D1, D5, and D10: first, fifth, and tenth day after rehydration, respectively. Different letters indicate significant differences in variables among various treatments according to LSD (p ≤ 0.05), and vertical bars represent standard errors. Three biological replicates per index.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dynamic characteristics of photosynthetic performance after drought and rewatering at the booting stage. RW: regular watering; MD: moderate drought; HD: severe drought; ED: extreme drought; D1: the first day after rehydration; D5: the fifth day after rehydration; D10: the tenth day after rehydration. Different letters indicate significant differences in variables among various treatments according to LSD (p ≤ 0.05), and vertical bars represent standard errors. Three biological replicates per index.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Activities of antioxidant enzymes in leaves of rice under different water conditions at the booting stage. MD: moderate drought; HD: severe drought; ED: extreme drought; D1: the first day after rehydration; D5: the fifth day after rehydration; D10: the tenth day after rehydration. Different letters indicate significant differences in variables among various treatments according to LSD (p ≤ 0.05), and vertical bars represent standard errors. Three biological replicates per index.
Figure 4
Figure 4
MDA content in rice under different water conditions at the booting stage. MD: moderate drought; HD: severe drought; ED: extreme drought; D1: the first day after rehydration; D5: the fifth day after rehydration; D10: the tenth day after rehydration. Different letters indicate significant differences in variables among various treatments according to LSD (p ≤ 0.05), and vertical bars represent standard errors. Three biological replicates per index.
Figure 5
Figure 5
MDA content in rice under different water conditions at the booting stage. RW: regular watering; MD: moderate drought; HD: severe drought; ED: extreme drought; D1: the first day after rehydration; D5: the fifth day after rehydration; D10: the tenth day after rehydration. Different letters indicate significant differences in variables among various treatments according to LSD (p ≤ 0.05), and vertical bars represent standard errors. Three biological replicates per index.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Correlation between photosynthetic parameters and physiological parameters of HY73. The data from cultivars and water treatments were merged to calculate the correlation coefficients (n = 18).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Correlation between photosynthetic parameters and physiological parameters of HHZ. The data from cultivars and water treatments were merged to calculate the correlation coefficients (n = 18).
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