Regulatory Response of Rice Seedlings to Exogenously Applied Kinetin During Oxidative Stress

  • Vimalraj Kantharaj
  • , Nirmal Kumar Ramasamy
  • , Young Eun Yoon
  • , Keum Ah Lee
  • , Vikranth Kumar
  • , Hyeonji Choe
  • , Hadjer Chohra
  • , Young Nam Kim
  • , Yong Bok Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hydroxyurea (HU) is a known suppressor of ribonucleotide reductase enzyme through enhanced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production, causing oxidative damage to DNA in plants. Kinetin (KI) has emerged as an important phytohormone in regulating development processes and antioxidant protection effects against environmental stresses. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the potential and regulating mechanism of KI application on tolerance of Oryza sativa to HU-induced oxidative stress. Three-day-old rice seedlings were grown in 1/2 MS medium for seven days following different treatments: control, HU (1 mM), KI (40 nM), and HU + KI. The results showed that, compared to control, HU treatment significantly reduced the growth (e.g., dry weight and root length: 36% and 48%, respectively) and photosynthetic rate (e.g., Fv/Fm: 31%) and pigments (e.g., chlorophyll and carotenoid: 52% and 67%, respectively), by stimulating oxidative stress (e.g., H2O2) markers and malondialdehyde levels, causing DNA damage and G1/S (growth/synthesis) and G2/M (growth/mitotic) phase arrest on seven-day-old rice seedlings. Meanwhile, the follow-up treatment of KI to the HU stress plants enhanced the growth (14–31%) and photosynthetic (13–29%) parameters by regulating antioxidant enzyme (e.g., catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase) activities as well as abscisic acid, salicylic acid, gibberellic acid, and indole-3-acetic acid hormone contents, coupled with a significant reduction in reactive oxygen species accumulation. Additionally, KI reduced the DNA damage in the plants exposed to HU stress by reducing the relative density of apurinic/apyrimidinic sites, as evidenced by both decrease and increase in transcriptional regulation of genes (e.g., ATM, ATR, PARP, RAD51A2, and RAD51C) involved in DNA damage response and cell cycle progression. Our findings indicate that exogenous application of KI to plants affected by oxidative stress improves the antioxidant defense system and phytohormone homeostasis as well as DNA damage response alleviating G1/S and G2/M arrest, contributing to enhancement of the rice seedling performance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4680-4690
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Plant Growth Regulation
Volume43
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2024

Keywords

  • Antioxidant activation
  • Metabolic stimulation
  • N-furfuryl adenine
  • Oxidative DNA damage
  • Plant growth and performance

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