Seed Treatment with Salicylic Acid Increases Gene Expression and Activity of Antioxidant Enzymes in Wheat Plants in Zinc or Copper Deficiency.

The effect of wheat seed treatment with salicylic acid (SA) on expression of the TaCu/ZnSOD, TaFeSOD, and TaCAT2 genes and activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in leaves was studied at optimal contents of zinc (2 µM) and copper (0.3 µM) in the root environment and in zinc and copper deficiencies. Seed treatment with SA was for the first time shown to increase of the amount of transcripts of the above genes as compared with untreated plants, both in optimal conditions and in zinc or copper deficiency.

The HMA2 Gene Expression in Leaves of Introgressive Wheat Lines under Zn Optimum and Deficiency Content in Root Environment.

In two introgressive lines of bread wheat (15-7-1 and 15-7-2), which differ in the allelic status of the Gpc-B1 gene, the expression of the gene encoding the HMA2 transport protein in flag leaves under optimum Zn content in substrate (2 µМ) and in its deficiency (0 µМ) was investigated. This is the first study to show that the plants carrying functional allele of the Gpc-В1 gene (line 15-7-1) have a higher level of TaHMA2 transcripts than the plants with nonfunctional allele of the Gpc-В1 gene (line 15-7-2) both at optimum Zn content in substrate and at its deficiency. Importantly, the high TaHMA2 gene expression did not affect the wheat shoot growth but correlated with a high Zn concentration in the aboveground part of plants.

Effect of Zinc Excess and Low Temperature on the IRT1 Gene Expression in the Roots and Leaves of Barley.

We studied the effect of zinc excess (1000 μM) and low positive temperature (4°C) on the IRT1 gene expression in barley roots and leaves. Exposure at each of the stress factors separately induced an increase in the content of the HvIRT1 gene transcripts, which was more pronounced in leaves. At the same time, the growth of seedlings continued.