Abstract
Taxus is a famous medicinal and landscape tree species. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) on the resistance of Taxus plants to acid rain stress and to identify Taxus species with strong acid rain resistance by principal component analysis and comprehensive evaluation. In this study, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) was used as the exogenous NO donor. The effects of different SNP solution concentrations on the antioxidant systems of three Taxus species subjected to simulated acid rain stress (pH = 3.0) were compared. In order to achieve this goal, we determined the rate of O2- production, the ASA and GSH contents in leaves of three Taxus plants (Taxus mairei, Taxus chinensis, and Taxus yunnanensis). At the same time, the active leaves of some antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, CAT, APX and GR) were determined. For Taxus chinensis plants subjected to acid rain stress, treatment with an SNP concentration of 0.25 mmol·L-1 led to the most significant improvements in the antioxidant system. For Taxus mairei and Taxus yunnanensis, the treatment with the SNP concentration of 0.50 mmol·L-1 was best for improving their antioxidant systems under stress. Meanwhile, Taxus chinensis had the strongest resistance to simulated acid rain, followed by Taxus mairei and Taxus yunnanensis.
Highlights
Taxus is a genus in the Taxaceae family, which mostly consists of evergreen shrub species
Taxus chinensis had the strongest resistance to simulated acid rain, followed by Taxus mairei and Taxus yunnanensis
The results show that the application of simulated acid rain with a pH of 3.0 can significantly (p < 0.05) increase the rate of O2- production in the leaves of the three Taxus species
Summary
Taxus is a genus in the Taxaceae family, which mostly consists of evergreen shrub species. Taxus plants is well known for its high value in the treatment of various cancers (Fei et al, 2019). They grow quickly, are well adapted to their environment and are easy to trim and shape (Rathore et al, 2019). Due to the interaction of these acids with other components in the atmosphere, protons are released. This proton release increases the acidity of the soil and the utilization of toxic heavy metals, reduces
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