title: Roles of catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) genes in stress response of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) against Cu(+2) and Zn(+2) heavy metal stresses.
abstract: Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is a good source of minerals and vitamins and this feature makes its value comparable with tomato which is economically the most important vegetable worldwide. Due to its common usage as food and in medicines, eggplant cultivation has a growing reputation worldwide. But genetic yield potential of an eggplant variety is not always attained, and it is limited by some factors such as heavy metal contaminated soils in today's world. Today, one of the main objectives of plant stress biology and agricultural biotechnology areas is to find the genes involved in antioxidant stress response and engineering the key genes to improve the plant resistance mechanisms. In this regard, the current study was conducted to gain an idea on the roles of catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) genes in defense mechanism of eggplant (S. melongena L., Pala-49 (Turkish cultivar)) treated with different concentrations of Cu(+2) and Zn(+2). For this aim, the steady-state messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of CAT and APX genes were determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in stressed eggplants. The results of the current study showed that different concentrations of Cu(+2) and Zn(+2) stresses altered the mRNA levels of CAT and APX genes in eggplants compared to the untreated control samples. When the mRNA levels of both genes were compared, it was observed that CAT gene was more active than APX gene in eggplant samples subjected to Cu(+2) contamination. The current study highlights the importance of CAT and APX genes in response to Cu(+2) and Zn(+2) heavy metal stresses in eggplant and gives an important knowledge about this complex interaction.
authors.affiliation: Medical Biological Products Laboratories, Department of Medicine, Biological and Medical Products Laboratory, Turkish Medicines and Medical Device Agency, Ministry of Health of Turkey, Ankara, Turkey. semrasoydam@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Semra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soydam-Aydın
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: İlker
authors.initials: İ
authors.lastname: Büyük
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Institute, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Demet
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cansaran-Duman
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sümer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aras
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis; D060387:Ascorbate Peroxidases / Q000235:genetics*; D002374:Catalase / Q000235:genetics*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D032323:Solanum melongena / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D060387:Ascorbate Peroxidases; D002374:Catalase; D015032:Zinc
keywords: APX; CAT; Cu +2; Eggplant; Heavy metal stress; Zn +2