Morpho-Physiological Changes in Roots of Rice Seedling upon Submergence

doi:10.1016/j.rsci.2019.04.003

Abstract

Abstract:

Submergence is a serious environmental condition that causes large loss in rice production in rain fed lowland and flood affected area. This study evaluated morphological and physiological responses of rice roots to submergence using two tolerant rice genotypes FR13A and Swarna-Sub 1 and two sensitive ones Swarna and IR42. The tolerant genotypes had higher survival rate and less shoot elongation but greater root elongation during submergence than the sensitive ones. After submergence, the tolerant genotypes also had higher root dry weight and more active roots than the sensitive ones. Tolerant genotypes exhibited less root injury, with less malondialdehyde production and slower electrolyte leakage after submergence. Tolerant genotypes also maintained higher concentrations of soluble sugar and starch in roots and shoots and higher chlorophyll retention after submergence than the sensitive ones. Our data showed that root traits such as root activity and root growth are associated with survival rate after submergence. This is probably accomplished through higher energy supply, and membrane integrity is necessary to preserve root function and reduce injury during submergence. These root traits are important for submergence tolerance in rice.

Key words: peroxidase, root activity, submergence, rice seedling, Sub1a gene

T. Bui Liem, S. Ella Evangelina, L. Dionisio-Sese Maribel, M. Ismail Abdelbagi. Morpho-Physiological Changes in Roots of Rice Seedling upon Submergence[J]. Rice Science, 2019, 26(3): 167-177.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1. Survival rate and elongation rate during submergence. A, Plant survival rate after recovery from 12 d of complete submergence. B, Shoot elongation and root elongation during submergence. Within groups, means followed by different letters are significantly different at the 0.05 level using the Duncan’s multiple range test. Bars are standard errors (n = 3).

Fig. 2. Photomicrographs of rice root tips stained with 2,7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate. Root tips with brighter light are more active than darker ones.

Fig. 3. Physiological parameters before and after submergence.A, Shoot dry weight before and after 12 d submergence. B, Root dry weight before and after 12 d submergence. C, Total chlorophyll concentration before and after 12 d submergence. D, Effect of submergence on malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in roots before and after 12 d submergence. E, Effect of submergence on electrolyte leakage (EL) in roots before and after 12 d submergence. F, Effect of submergence on root peroxidase (POD) activity before submergence and after 7 d and 12 d of submergence. Within groups, means followed by the same lowercase letters are not significantly different at P < 0.05 using the Duncan’s multiple range test. Data are Mean ± SE (n = 3).

Table 1 Percentage of shoot and root biomass of four rice genotypes before and after 12 d submergence.

Genotype	Shoot		Root
Genotype	BS (%)	AS (%)	BS (%)	AS (%)
FR13A	89.24	86.21	10.76	13.79
Swarna-Sub 1	89.09	81.04*	10.91	18.96*
Swarna	88.86	83.39	11.14	16.6
IR42	89.98	79.99*	10.02	20.01*

Table 2 Non-structural carbohydrate (starch and soluble sugar) concentrations in rice roots, shoots and seedlings. mg/g

Genotype	Root		Shoot		Seedling
Genotype	BS	AS	BS	AS	BS	AS
FR13A	8.20 a	9.83 a	52.72 a	20.83 a	60.91 a	30.66 a
Swarna-Sub 1	5.83 b	7.29 b	24.24 b	21.42 a	30.06 b	28.71 a
Swarna	5.67 b	6.04 b	24.68 b	18.45 b	30.36 b	24.50 b
IR42	6.52 b	5.04 b	26.19 b	18.72 b	32.71 b	23.76 b

Fig. 4. Correlation between seedling survival rate with elongation rate during submergence (A), root peroxidase activity at 7 d and 12 d of submergence (B), membrane damage measured as relative electrolyte leakage (C), and root MDA and root electrolyte leakage at 7 d of submergence (D). MDA, Malondialdehyde; EL, Electrolyte leakage.

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