Calcium–calmodulin is required for abscisic acid-induced antioxidant defense and functions both upstream and downstream of H2O2 production in leaves of maize (Zea mays) plants

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01888.x

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Wiley InterScience

New Phytologist

Volume 173 Issue 1, Pages 27 - 38

Published Online: 29 Sep 2006

Published on behalf of the New Phytologist Trust

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Calcium–calmodulin is required for abscisic acid-induced antioxidant defense and functions both upstream and downstream of H₂O₂ production in leaves of maize (Zea mays) plants

Xiuli Hu ¹ , Mingyi Jiang ¹ , Jianhua Zhang ² , Aying Zhang ¹ , Fan Lin ¹ and Mingpu Tan ¹

¹ College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; ² Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China

Author for correspondence: Mingyi Jiang Tel: +86 25 84396372 Fax: +86 25 84396673 Email: myjiang@njau.edu.cn

KEYWORDS

abscisic acid • antioxidant enzymes • calcium/calmodulin • hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) • signal transduction • Zea mays

New Phytologist (2007) 173: 27–38

doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01888.x

ABSTRACT

•
Using pharmacological and biochemical approaches, the role of calmodulin (CaM) and the relationship between CaM and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in abscisic acid (ABA)-induced antioxidant defense in leaves of maize (Zea mays) plants were investigated.
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Treatment with ABA or H₂O₂ led to significant increases in the concentration of cytosolic Ca²⁺ in the protoplasts of mesophyll cells and in the expression of the calmodulin 1 (CaM1) gene and the content of CaM in leaves of maize plants, and enhanced the expression of the antioxidant genes superoxide dismutase 4 (SOD4), cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase (cAPX), and glutathione reductase 1 (GR1) and the activities of the chloroplastic and cytosolic antioxidant enzymes. The up-regulation of the antioxidant enzymes was almost completely blocked by pretreatments with two CaM antagonists.
•
Pretreatments with CaM antagonists almost completely inhibited ABA-induced H₂O₂ production throughout ABA treatment, but pretreatment with an inhibitor or scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS) did not affect the initial increase in the contents of CaM induced by ABA.
•
Our results suggest that Ca²⁺–CaM is involved in ABA-induced antioxidant defense, and that cross-talk between Ca²⁺–CaM and H₂O₂ plays a pivotal role in ABA signaling.