Increased Polyamines Conjugated to Tonoplast Vesicles Correlate with Maintenance of the H+-ATPase and H+-PPase Activities and Enhanced Osmotic Stress Tolerance in Wheat

The effects of osmotic stress on H+-ATPase and H+-PPase activities and the levels of covalently conjugated polyamines (CC-PAs) and noncovalently conjugated polyamines (NCC-PAs) were investigated using tonoplast vesicles isolated from the roots of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings differing in drought-tolerance. The results showed that after polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6,000 (−0.55MPa) treatment for 7 days, seedling leaf relative water content (LRWC), relative dry weight increase rate (RDWIR) and root H+-ATPase and H+-PPase activities from the drought-sensitive cultivar Yangmai No. 9 decreased more markedly than those from the drought-tolerant cultivar Yumai No. 18. At the same time, the increase of the NCC-spermidine (NCC-Spd) and CC-putrescine (CC-Put) levels in root tonoplast vesicles from Yumai No. 18 was more obvious than that from Yangmai No. 9. Exogenous Spd treatment alleviated osmotic stress injury to Yangmai No. 9 seedlings, coupled with marked increases of tonoplast NCC-Spd levels and H+-ATPase and H+-PPase activities. Treatments with methylglyoxyl bis (guanyl hydrazone) (MGBG), an inhibitor of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC), and phenanthrolin, an inhibitor of transglutaminase (TGase), significantly inhibited the osmotically induced increases of NCC-Spd and CC-Put levels, respectively, in root tonoplast vesicles from Yumai No. 18 seedlings. Both MGBG and phenanthrolin treatments markedly promoted osmotically induced decreases of tonoplast H+-ATPase and H+-PPase activities and osmotic stress tolerance of seedlings of this cultivar. These results suggest that the NCC-Spd and CC-Put present in tonoplast vesicles isolated from wheat seedling roots might enhance the adaptation of seedlings to osmotic stress via maintenance of tonoplast H+-ATPase and H+-PPase activities.