Chapter 23 - A Review on the Protocols and Comparative Studies of Oxidative Stress Tolerance in Rice

Abstract

Oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is presumed to be involved in damage and growth retardation in plants including rice plants, under various stress conditions. Despite its potential importance in rice breeding, mechanisms, and genetic regulations of oxidative stress tolerance is not fully understood. To support future studies in this area, this chapter provides in-depth instructions of the protocols for measurements of ROS (3,3′-diaminobenzidine staining, nitro blue tetrazolium staining, and measuring malondialdehyde equivalent) and protocols for comparison of oxidative stress tolerance in rice leaves (paraquat treatment, H2O2 treatment, chlorophyll fluorescence analysis, ion leakage analysis, and chlorophyll a:b ratio). These protocols will be also applicable to the other plant species. This chapter also tries to summarize the best knowledge on the mechanism of oxidative stress tolerance of rice plants, as well as reviewing the difference in oxidative stress tolerance between rice cultivars.