title: Plant chitinase responses to different metal-type stresses reveal specificity.
abstract: Chitinases in Glycine max roots specifically respond to different metal types and reveal a polymorphism that coincides with sensitivity to metal toxicity. Plants evolved various defense mechanisms to cope with metal toxicity. Chitinases (EC 3.2.1.14), belonging to so-called pathogenesis-related proteins, act as possible second line defense compounds in plants exposed to metals. In this work their activity was studied and compared in two selected soybean (Glycine max L.) cultivars, the metal-tolerant cv. Chernyatka and the sensitive cv. Kyivska 98. Roots were exposed to different metal(loid)s such as cadmium, arsenic and aluminum that are expected to cause toxicity in different ways. For comparison, a non-metal, NaCl, was applied as well. The results showed that the sensitivity of roots to different stressors coincides with the responsiveness of chitinases in total protein extracts. Moreover, detailed analyses of acidic and neutral proteins identified one polymorphic chitinase isoform that distinguishes between the two cultivars studied. This isoform was stress responsive and thus could reflect the evolutionary adaptation of soybean to environmental cues. Activities of the individual chitinases were dependent on metal type as well as the cultivar pointing to their more complex role in plant defense during this type of stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nábrežie mládeže 91, 949 74, Nitra, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Patrik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mészáros
authors.forename: Lubomír
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rybanský
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spieß
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Socha
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kuna
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Libantová
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moravčíková
authors.forename: Beáta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Piršelová
authors.forename: Pavol
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hauptvogel
authors.forename: Ildikó
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matušíková
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D002688:Chitinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D008670:Metals / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000378:metabolism; D013025:Glycine max / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007527:Isoenzymes; D008670:Metals; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D002688:Chitinases