Involvement of Boiling Stable Antioxidant Enzymes in Adaptation of Invasive Alien Plant Lantana to Abiotic Stress under Natural Conditions

Abstract

Lantana camara L. is noxious weed affecting ecosystem and biodiversity worldwide. However, the biochemical basis of invasiveness and adaptation to abiotic stress is still not known. In this study, effect of different natural constrains like cold and heat was studied in leaves and flowers of two varieties of Lantana. Studied highlighted that cold and heat stress aggravated membrane injury and lipid peroxidation both in leaves and flowers of both varieties. Levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) like hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide radical (O2−) also increased under adverse abiotic conditions. Higher activities of key antioxidant enzymes like NADPH oxidase, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase were also detected under adverse abiotic conditions, indicating the potential involvement of enzymes in providing adaptation to Lantana plants.