A novel function of sanshools: the alleviation of injury from metolachlor in rice seedlings.
Szechuan peppers are extensively used as a spice and in traditional medicine in Asia, primarily because of its active compounds, sanshools (S). However, there is only limited mention in agriculture, and there are no papers reporting its use as an herbicide safener. In this study, we provide the first evidence that S can effectively alleviate rice-seedling injury from metolachlor (M). We observed that the M-treated (0.25 μM) rice seedlings, which were 56.0%, 66.0%, and 57.0% of the non-treated control in shoot height, root length, and fresh biomass, respectively, were recovered by S to 93.1%, 97.6%, and 94.8%, respectively. The emergence rate was enhanced to over 80% in the M+S treatment, whereas it was below 60% in the M treatment. This M+S mixture elevated the rice-seedling root activity to higher than 87.0% of the value for the non-treated control. The activity of glutathione transferases in the combined treatments approximately doubles that of the M treatment and quadruples that of the non-treated controls. This effect was positively correlated with the induced expression of OsGSTU3. Our results suggest that S may represent a new group of safeners and enable the possibility of using these compounds for improving plant production or protecting rice from the phytotoxicity of metolachlor.
Institute of Pesticide, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, Hunan, China; Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, Hunan, China.
Xinke
X
Tang
Institute of Pesticide, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, Hunan, China.
Xiaomao
X
Zhou
Institute of Pesticide, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, Hunan, China; Agricultural Products Quality Monitoring Center of Changsha, Changsha 410128, Hunan, China.
Jing
J
Wu
Hunan Institute of Humanities, Science and Technology, Loudi 417000, Hunan, China.
Jingbo
J
Li
Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410128, Hunan, China; Hunan Institute of Humanities, Science and Technology, Loudi 417000, Hunan, China. Electronic address: bailianyang2005@aliyun.com.
Lianyang
L
Bai
D000081:Acetamides / Q000633:toxicity*; D000577:Amides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006540:Herbicides / Q000633:toxicity*; D012275:Oryza / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D020011:Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D036226:Seedlings / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
D000081:Acetamides; D000577:Amides; D006540:Herbicides; D020011:Protective Agents; D002734:Chlorophyll; C100574:sanshool; C037184:chlorophyll b; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; C051786:metolachlor; D000077194:Chlorophyll A
Herbicide injury; Metolachlor; Oryza sativa; Safener; Sanshools