Visible injury and nitrogen metabolism of rice leaves under ozone stress, and effect on sugar and protein contents in grain

Abstract

Effect of ozone on the visible injury, nitrogen metabolism of rice leaves, and sugar and protein contents in rice grain was carried out by the open-top chamber. The results indicated that ozone stress caused obvious injury in rice leaves. The increase in ozone concentration had significant influence on the nitrate reductase activity in rice leaves. At the ozone concentration of 40, 80 and 120 nL L−1, the nitrate reductase activities in rice leaves in the tillering stage, the jointing stage, the heading stage and milk stage were separately reduced by 25.3–86.3%, 57.4–97.8%, 91.0–99.3% and 89.5–96.7% compared with those in the control treatment. As ozone concentration increased, the contents of ammonium nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen in rice leaves were obviously reduced. Ozone stress also had an influence on the contents of sugar and protein in rice grain. The stress of high ozone concentration (120 nL L−1) caused the starch content in grain to reduce by 15.8% than that in the control treatment, but total soluble sugars in grain was actually enhanced by 47.5% compared to that in the control treatment. The contents of albumin and glutenin in rice grain increased with increasing the ozone concentration, and prolamin and crude protein contents in rice grain increased only at the higher ozone concentration. Under ozone concentration of 120 nL L−1, the contents of albumin, glutenin and crude protein in rice grain were increased respectively by 23.1%, 21.0% and 21.1% compared with those in the control treatment. The result suggested that ozone tress has an influence on nitrogen metabolism of rice leaves and grain quality.