title: Beneficial behavior of nitric oxide in copper-treated medicinal plants.
abstract: Despite numerous reports implicating nitric oxide (NO) in the environmental-stress responses of plants, the specific metabolic and ionic mechanisms of NO-mediated adaptation to metal stress remain unclear. Here, the impacts of copper (Cu) and NO donor (SNP, 50μM) alone or in combination on the well-known medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus L. were investigated. Our results showed that Cu markedly increased Cu(2+) accumulation, decreased NO production, and disrupted mineral equilibrium and proton pumps, thereby stimulating a burst of ROS; in addition, SNP ameliorates the negative toxicity of Cu, and cPTIO reverses this action. Furthermore, the accumulations of ROS and NO resulted in reciprocal changes. Interestingly, nearly all of the investigated amino acids and the total phenolic content in the roots were promoted by the SNP treatment but were depleted by the Cu+SNP treatment, which is consistent with the self-evident increases in phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity and total soluble phenol content induced by SNP. Unexpectedly, leaf vincristine and vinblastine as well as the total alkaloid content (ca. 1.5-fold) were decreased by Cu but markedly increased by SNP (+38% and +49% of the control levels). This study provides the first evidence of the beneficial behavior of NO, rather than other compounds, in depleting Cu toxicity by regulating mineral absorption, reestablishing ATPase activities, and stimulating secondary metabolites.
authors.affiliation: College of Landscape Architecture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China. Electronic address: liushiliang9@163.com.
authors.forename: Shiliang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Landscape Architecture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Rongjie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Landscape Architecture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Yuanzhi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biotechnology & Breeding, Sichuan Academy of Forestry, Chengdu, Sichuan 610081, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: College of Landscape Architecture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Qibing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Landscape Architecture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: College of Landscape Architecture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Electrical & Biomedical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
authors.forename: Qingsu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: College of Landscape Architecture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China. Electronic address: 610245498@qq.com.
authors.forename: Mingdong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D030008:Catharanthus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D003300:Copper / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D020030:Nitric Oxide Donors / Q000494:pharmacology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020030:Nitric Oxide Donors; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D003300:Copper
keywords: Amino acids; Antitumor alkaloids; Catharanthus roseus L.; Copper stress; Phenolic metabolism