Effects of salt and alkali stress on growth, accumulation of oxalic acid, and activity of oxalic acid-metabolizing enzymes in Kochia sieversiana

Abstract

Kochia sieversiana (Pall.) C.A. Mey. is a forage plant that can grow in extremely alkalinized grasslands at pH 10 or higher. Accumulation of a large amount of oxalic acid (OxA) is a primary characteristic of K. sieversiana. In our study, seedlings of K. sieversiana were exposed to the following conditions: non-stress, salinity (200 mM, a molar ratio of NaCl and Na2SO4 1:1), and alkali stress (200 mM, a molar ratio of NaHCO3 and Na2CO3 1:1). Growth, water content, content of organic acids (including OxA), Na+, and K+, and activities of some OxA metabolism-related enzymes were determined. Results show that glycolate oxidase was the key enzyme for OxA synthesis; however, the carboxylation of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) by PEP carboxylase (PEPC) probably played a minor role in the OxA-synthetic pathway. The pathway of L-ascorbic acid catabolism was not the main source of OxA accumulation, and the activity of oxalate oxidase (OxO) involved in OxA decomposition was not a limiting factor for inner OxA accumulation. Taken together, accumulation of a large amount of OxA are not related to the degradation and secretion function of OxO but largely depend upon its synthetic function.