Reactive Oxygen Species Production in Wheat Roots Is Not Linked with Changes in H+ Fluxes During Acidic and Aluminium Stresses

Aluminium stress induces peroxidation of lipids in the plasma membrane, the effect akin to that caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS have recently been proposed as regulators of redox-dependent ion transport across the plasma membrane during biotic and abiotic stresses, thus contributing to the plant defence system. The aim of this study was to discover whether ROS production is linked to redox-dependent H+ transport system located at the plasma membranes of two near-isogenic lines of wheat (Triticum aestivum L., ET8 = Al-resistant, ES8 = Al-sensitive). The activities of NADPH-dependent ROS synthase and SOD were increased in both wheat lines 15 and 30 min after Al treatments. However, the ROS production was also increased under acidic stress. There was no difference between the two wheat lines in the root-cell plasma membrane capacity to efflux H+ in response to potassium ferricyanide after Al and acidic treatments. In ET8, both stresses led to increases in ROS production and H+ influx. ROS production in wheat seedlings was activated primarily by low pH exposure rather than by the Al stress. ROS production and breakdown in wheat seedlings under Al and acidic stresses appear to be linked to the intracellular metabolic changes rather than to the increased activity of plasma membrane-based NADPH-dependent ROS synthase.