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Abstract
Genotype-dependent responses of apples to drought stress were evaluated between commercial and traditional apple cultivars. The results indicate different mechanisms of tolerance to investigated drought stress conditions. Chlorophyll fluorescence induction (OJIP) parameters, chlorophyll and carotenoid content, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), proline, phenols and leaf water content (WC) were measured. The traditional cultivar “Crvenka” confirmed the best tolerance to a drought stress condition, presenting higher photosynthetic efficiency, higher leaf water content, higher levels of chlorophyll content and lower lipid peroxidation with greater membrane stability. The commercial cultivar “Golden Delicious Reinders” showed decreased water content in leaves, increased lipid peroxidation levels and photoinhibition. Considering all results, the commercial cultivar “Golden Delicious Reinders” was adversely affected by drought, while traditional cultivars exhibited better tolerance to drought stress.
Highlights
In recent years, numerous studies have been published about the effects of global climate change on ecosystems, and it is predicted that climate change will cause extreme temperatures and droughts
The increase in the following parameters were more pronounced at 12 DAS: absorption per active reaction center (ABS/RC) (Figure 1A), trapped energy flux per active reaction center (TR0 /RC) (Figure 1B), electron transport flux per active reaction center (ET0 /RC)
Our results showed that drought treated plants of the “Golden Delicious Reinders” cultivar had higher fluorescence intensity at the J step (2 ms) and I step, compared to traditional cultivars (Figure 3A,D,G), resulting in a dramatically changed OJIP curve shape
Summary
Numerous studies have been published about the effects of global climate change on ecosystems, and it is predicted that climate change will cause extreme temperatures and droughts. Drought has become a major abiotic stress factor that adversely effects plant growth, survival and limits crop productivity [1], causing a reduction in fruit yield and fruit quality [2]. Lack of water in plants induces oxidative stress [5,6], overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including the superoxide radical (O2 − ) and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ), which cause lipid peroxidation and damages the membrane, proteins, chlorophyll, nucleic acids and cell death [7,8]. To cope with drought stress and protect themselves from oxidative stress, plants have evolved antioxidant defense mechanisms including antioxidant enzymes (e.g., peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT)) and non-enzymatic antioxidants (e.g., phenolic, ascorbic acid, glutathione, carotenoids) [12,13,14]
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