1. Short-term waterlogging-induced autophagy in root cells of wheat can inhibit programmed cell death
- Author
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Li-Lang Zhou, Li-Sha Cheng, Xiang-Yi Deng, Jiwei Li, Yi-Keng Cheng, Zhuqing Zhou, Fangzhu Mei, Yue-Li Wang, Qiu-Tao Xu, and Kai-Yue Gao
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Programmed cell death ,Apoptosis ,Plant Science ,Biology ,DNA laddering ,01 natural sciences ,03 medical and health sciences ,otorhinolaryngologic diseases ,medicine ,Autophagy ,Triticum ,food and beverages ,Cell Biology ,General Medicine ,Metacaspase ,Cell biology ,Cortex (botany) ,Cell nucleus ,030104 developmental biology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Cytoplasm ,Stele ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
Autophagy is a pathway for the degradation of cytoplasmic components in eukaryotes. In wheat, the mechanism by which autophagy regulates programmed cell death (PCD) is unknown. Here, we demonstrated that short-term waterlogging-induced autophagy inhibited PCD in root cells of wheat. The waterlogging-tolerant wheat cultivar Huamai 8 and the waterlogging-sensitive wheat cultivar Huamai 9 were used as experimental materials, and their roots were waterlogged for 0–48 h. Waterlogging stress increased the number of autophagic structures, the expression levels of autophagy-related genes (TaATG), and the occurrence of PCD in root cells. PCD manifested as morphological changes in the cell nucleus, significant enhancement of DNA laddering bands, and increases in caspase-like protease activity and the expression levels of metacaspase genes. The autophagy promoter rapamycin (RAPA) reduced PCD levels, whereas the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) enhanced them. The expression levels of TaATG genes and the number of autophagic structures were lower in cortex cells than in stele cells, but the levels of PCD were higher in cortex cells. The number of autophagic structures was greater in Huamai 8 than in Huamai 9, but the levels of PCD were lower. In summary, our results showed that short-term waterlogging induced autophagy which could inhibit PCD. Mechanisms of response to waterlogging stress differed between cortex and stele cells and between two wheat cultivars of contrasting waterlogging tolerance.
- Published
- 2020