Viruses have an estimated global population size of 10 to the 31st, with a significant proportion found in the marine environment. Viral lysis of bacteria affects the flow of carbon in the marine microbial food web, but the effects of lysogeny on marine microbial ecology are largely unknown. In this thesis, factors that influence the control of lysogeny were studied in both the phiHSIC/Listonella pelagia phage-host system and in bacterioplankton populations in the Gulf of Mexico. Using macroarrays dotted with phiHSIC amplicons, viral gene expression over the course of a synchronous infection experiment was measured. Early, middle, late, and continually expressed genes were identified, and included open reading frames 45, 28, 18 and 17, respectively. Viral gene expression in cultures of the HSIC-1a pseudolysogen grown in low and normal salinity media was also analyzed. Overall, levels of viral gene expression were higher in the 39 ppt treatment as compared to the 11 ppt tre atment for most ORFs. In the 11 ppt treatment, free phage concentrations were one to two orders of magnitude lower than the 39 ppt treatment while intracellular phage concentrations were one-fold lower. Therefore, at low salinities, expression of phiHSIC genes is repressed resulting in a lysogenic-like state, while at 39 ppt, lytic interactions dominated. Few viral genes were highly expressed at low salinity, suggesting that repression of viral genes was controlled by host genes. Samples from the eutrophic Mississippi River Plume and the oligotrophic Gulf of Mexico were analyzed for lytic phage production and occurrence of lysogeny. Significant lytic viral production was only observed three stations, none of which were located within the MRP. This signifies that system productivity is not an accurate predictor of viral productivity. The lysogenic fraction was also inversely correlated to bacterial activity, which decreased with depth. These findings support the hypothesis that lysogeny is a survival mechanism for phages when host cell density is low or when conditions do not favor growth. A unifying theme from these experiments was that lytic processes dominated when bacterial growth conditions were optimal, while lysogeny was observed at unfavorable growth conditions or environmental stress (low salinity).

One of the major challenges for agricultural research in the 21st century is to increase crop productivity to meet the growing demand for food and feed. Biotic (e.g. plant pathogens) and abiotic stresses (e.g. soil salinity) have detrimental effects on agricultural productivity, with yield losses being as high as 60% for major crops such as barley, corn, potatoes, sorghum, soybean and wheat, especially in semi-arid regions such as Saudi Arabia. Plant growth promoting bacteria isolated from pioneer desert plants could serve as an eco-friendly, sustainable solution for improving plant growth, stress tolerance and health. In this dissertation, culture-independent amplicon sequencing of bacterial communities revealed how native desert plants influence their surrounding bacterial communities in a phylogeny-dependent manner. By culture-dependent isolation of the plant endosphere compartments and a number of bioassays, more than a hundred bacterial isolates with various biochemical properties, such as nutrient acquisition, hormone production and growth under stress conditions were obtained. From this collection, five phylogenetically diverse bacterial strains were able to promote the growth of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana under salinity stress conditions in a common mechanism of inducing transcriptional changes of tissue-specific ion transporters and lowering Na+/K+ ratios in the shoots. By combining a number of in vitro bioassays, plant phenotyping and volatile-mediated inhibition assays with next-generation sequencing technology, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and bioinformatics tools, a candidate strain was presented as a multi-stress tolerance promoting bacterium with potential use in agriculture. Since recent research showed the importance of microbial partners for enhancing the growth and health of plants, a review of the different factors influencing plant-associated microbial communities is presented and a framework for the successful application of microbial inoculants in agriculture is proposed. The presented work demonstrates a holistic approach for tackling agricultural challenges using microbial inoculants from desert plants by combining culturomics, phenomics, genomics and transcriptomics. Microbial inoculants are promising tools for studying abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms in plants, and they provide an eco-friendly solution for increasing crop yield in arid and semi-arid regions, especially in light of a dramatically growing human population and detrimental effects of global warming and climate change.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / As the global human population grows, so does the demand for faster food production rates. Owing to this, agricultural practices have had to expand and move into semi-arid and arid regions, too, where frequent irrigation is essential. However, irrigated ground water contains many salt ions (mainly Na+ and Cl-) which contribute to soil salinization on croplands. Soil salinity negatively impacts crop growth and yield and thus, strategies for the alleviation of salt stress on crop plants have had to be developed. This study assessed the use of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB). The aim of this study was to isolate, identify and characterize bacterial endophytes isolated from the halophyte, Arctotheca calendula. Endophytes were identified using 16S rDNA and were screened for plant growth promoting properties including nitrogen fixation, phosphate and zinc solubilization, siderophore, ammonia and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) when exposed to 0 mM, 300 mM and 600 mM NaCl. The endophytes had been identified as Erwinia persicina NBRC 102418T, Bacillus marisflavi JCM 11544T, Ochrobactrum rhizosphaerae PR17T, Microbacterium gubbeenense DSM 15944T and Bacillus zhangzhouensis DW5-4T and all of which had demonstrated some plant growth promoting characteristics. Thereafter, we aimed to demonstrate plant growth promotion of P. vulgaris cv. Star 2000 inoculated with PGPB under salinity stress. P. vulgaris cv. Star 2000 seeds were inoculated with the PGPB and exposed to 0 mM and 100 mM NaCl. Post-harvest, plants were assessed for their dry mass, cell death, superoxide concentration and nutrient content. It was discovered that salinity negatively impacted P. vulgaris cv. Star 2000’s dry mass, NaCl-induced cell death, and differentially influenced superoxide concentration, nutrient uptake and content of the leaf and root material in the inoculated and control treatments. However, the isolated PGPB had been able to mitigate the negative effects of soil salinity on P. vulgaris cv. Star 2000.

The PROTEOLYSIS 6 (PRT6) branch of the N-end rule pathway is a well-characterized negative regulator of flooding and low oxygen tolerance in plants. This study investigated the role of this pathway in adaptation to salinity stress in Arabidopsis and maize via physiological and molecular characterization of Arabidopsis prt6-1 and maize prt6 MU insertion mutants, respectively. Our study demonstrated that the loss of function mutation of prt6 in Arabidopsis activated hormonal and transcriptional responses associated with adaptation to salinity stress, enhancing high salt tolerance at seed germination, seedling, and adult plant stages. Our data also indicated that salinity tolerance conferred by the prt6 mutation is attributed to increased mRNA abundance of key transcriptional factors in ABA-dependent (AREB/ABFs) and independent (DREBs) pathways, together with the dominant expression of downstream dehydrins. Furthermore, this study revealed that the prt6 mutation enhances ethylene and brassinosteroid responses, resulting in restricted Na+ accumulation in roots and shoots as well as increased expression of dehydrin genes such as RD29A and RD29B. Maize prt6 mutant plants, contrary to our observation in Arabidopsis, showed lower seed germination, primary root elongation, and shoot biomass growth along with increased malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation under high salt. Moreover, maize prt6 mutants exhibited reduced grain yield and yield-related components under high salt. These results indicate that PRT6 functions as a negative regulator for salinity tolerance in Arabidopsis, whereas this gene plays a positive role in salinity tolerance in maize. In wheat, we compared two genotypes with contrasting nitrogen-use-efficiency (NUE), VA08MAS-369 and VA07W-415, to dissect physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying NUE regulation. Our agronomic data revealed that line 369 maintained yield and yield-related parameters and exhibited greater NUE indexes relative to line 415 under N deficient conditions. Furthermore, our analyses suggested that the significantly higher nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in line 369 could be attributed to the greater N uptake efficiency in this genotype. In fact, line 369 was able to maintain the development of root systems under N limitation. Consistently, genes encoding high-affinity nitrate transporters such as TaNRT2.1 and TaNRT2.2 were expressed more abundantly in the roots of line 369 than line 415 at limited N. Overall, the results of this study characterized physiological and molecular phenotypes associated with high N uptake efficiency in line 369. This is useful information for the development of new wheat accessions with improved NUE. / Doctor of Philosophy / In coastal areas, sea-level rise increases the chances of saltwater intrusion into cultivable lands, making a hostile environment for crop growth and production by imposing flooding and salinity stresses simultaneously. Identification of central regulators that regulate the adaptation to both flooding and salinity is a critical step for the development of new crop genotypes with enhanced tolerance to these stresses. Previous studies have characterized the function of the PROTEOLYSIS 6 (PRT6) gene in adaptation to flooding stress in plants. This study assessed whether this gene is involved in adaptation to salinity stress in Arabidopsis and maize by evaluating the growth and survival of their respective prt6 mutants under high salt. Consistent with the flooding tolerance data, our study showed that the PRT6 gene also functions as a negative regulator of salinity stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. The prt6 mutation in Arabidopsis activated the key transcriptional and hormone response pathways associated with adaptation to both salinity/osmotic stress and sodium toxicity, expressed as enhanced tolerance to excess salt at seed germination, seedling, and adult plant stages. In maize, disruption of the PRT6 gene decreased seed germination, primary root elongation, and shoot biomass growth under high salt, which is opposite to our observations in Arabidopsis. Additionally, the maize mutant plants encountered more oxidative stress, as demonstrated by the higher accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) under high salt. Moreover, maize prt6 mutants exhibited reduced grain yield under high salt. Overall, these results indicate that disruption of the PRT6 gene confers increased tolerance to high salt in Arabidopsis, whereas it conversely reduced salinity tolerance in maize. In wheat, we compared two genotypes with distinct nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), VA08MAS-369 and VA07W-415, to determine critical traits involved in NUE regulation. Our study showed that grain yield and yield-related parameters were significantly higher in line 369 than line 415 under low N. Moreover, high NUE in line 369 was attributed to efficient N uptake in this genotype under limited N. Our root architecture analysis demonstrated that line 369 was able to maintain root depth, volume, and thickness even under N limitation. Consistently, line 369 highly induced expression of genes associated with nitrogen transport at low N. Altogether, this study identified key traits involved in high NUE in wheat, facilitating the breeding of new wheat genotypes with enhanced NUE.

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No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) dissertacao_gabriele_espinel_avila.pdf: 937823 bytes, checksum: 425729d85c0200d3520fa3c39b5b7aae (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Classificada como halófita facultativa, a quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) é reconhecida por tolerar elevados níveis de salinidade. No Brasil, a cv. BRS Piabiru é a primeira recomendada para o cultivo granífero, constituindo alternativa para diversificação dos sistemas agrícolas. Contudo, estudos relativos à adaptação dessa cultivar no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, bem como às condições de salinidade ainda são necessários. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as respostas fisiológicas (pigmentos e trocas gasosas) e bioquímicas (atividade enzimática antioxidante, teores de peróxido de hidrogênio, peroxidação lipídica, prolina e potencial osmótico) de plantas de quinoa cv. BRS Piabiru cultivadas sob condições de salinidade. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação onde as sementes foram distribuídas em vasos plásticos, preenchidos com areia lavada. Após sete dias da germinação foi fornecida solução nutritiva, ministrada a cada quatro dias e, aos 30 dias, foi realizado o desbaste, mantendo-se quatro plantas por vaso. Neste período também foram aplicadas as soluções salinas, na forma de cloreto de sódio, nas concentrações de 100, 200, 300 e 400 mM, além do tratamento controle cuja as plantas foram cultivadas na ausência da salinidade. As soluções nutritiva e salina foram aplicadas intercaladamente, a cada dois dias, até o fim do experimento. Aos 30, 60 e 90 dias após indução dos tratamentos, as plantas foram avaliadas quanto a parâmetros fisiológicos e bioquímicos (análises não destrutivas e destrutivas, respectivamente). Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância (p≤0,05), as médias comparadas pelo teste de Tukey ao nível de 5% de probabilidade de erro e analisados por regressão polinomial. Houve redução no índice de clorofila e índice de balanço de nitrogênio e, a partir de 60 dias, incremento no índice de flavonoides. Neste período, a taxa de assimilação líquida de CO2 seguiu tendência quadrática de elevação até a concentração de 250 mM e as variáveis eficiência de uso da água e eficiência de carboxilação aumentaram linearmente com o incremento da salinidade. A atividade enzimática antioxidante, através das enzimas superóxido dismutase, catalase e ascorbato peroxidase, demonstrou que a salinidade promoveu adaptação e tentativa de neutralização das espécies reativas de oxigênio produzidas durante o estresse salino, tanto na parte aérea quanto em raízes. Houve aumento no potencial osmótico em ambos órgãos aos 90 dias após indução dos tratamentos, contudo, nas raízes a síntese de prolina não seguiu a mesma tendência. Apesar da redução nos índices de clorofila e de balanço de nitrogênio, há manutenção da taxa fotossintética, a qual, associada a capacidade antioxidante e ao ajuste osmótico até a concentração de 250 mM de NaCl, caracteriza a cv. BRS Piabiru com potencial de cultivo em solos sujeitos a salinização. / Classified as optional halophyte, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is recognized for tolerate high levels of salinity. In Brazil, the cv. BRS Piabiru is the first recommended for grain production, providing an alternative for diversification of agricultural systems. However, studies on the adaptation of this variety in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, as well as the salinity conditions are still needed. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the physiological responses (pigments and gas exchange) and biochemical (antioxidant enzyme activity, hydrogen peroxide levels, lipid peroxidation, proline and osmotic potential) of quinoa plants cv. BRS Piabiru cultivated under saline conditions. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse where the seeds were distributed in plastic pots filled with washed sand. After seven days of germination was supplied nutrient solution administered every four days and at day 30, the trimming was carried out, keeping four plants per pot. During this period the salt solutions have also been applied in the form of sodium chloride at concentrations of 100, 200, 300 and 400 mM, beyond which the control treatment plants were grown in the absence of salinity. The nutrient and saline solutions were applied interchangeably, every two days until the end of the experiment. At 30, 60 and 90 days after induction of treatments, the plants were evaluated for physiological and biochemical parameters (non-destructive and destructive analysis, respectively). Data were subjected to analysis of variance (p≤ 0.05), the averages compared by Tukey test at 5% error probability and analyzed by polynomial regression. There was reduction in chlorophyll content and nitrogen balance index and from 60 days, an increase in flavonoid content. During this period, net assimilation rate of CO2 followed quadratic upward trend until the concentration of 250 mM and the conditions of water use efficiency and carboxylation efficiency increased linearly with increasing salinity. The antioxidant enzyme activity by the enzyme superoxide dismutase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase showed that the salinity promoted adaptation and attempt to neutralize the reactive oxygen species produced during salt stress, both in shoots and in roots. There was an increase of osmotic potential in both organs 90 days after induction of treatment, however, the roots proline synthesis did not follow the same trend. Despite the reduction in levels of chlorophyll and nitrogen balance, there is maintenance of photosynthetic rate, that, associated with antioxidant capacity and osmotic adjustment, until the concentration of 250 mM of NaCl, featuring the cv. BRS Piabiru with growing potential subjects soil salinization.

The eutrophication of the Southern Bight of the North Sea has been benefitting to the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis globosa (P. globosa). This species is a known high dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) producer whose bloom accounts for 95% of spring phytoplankton biomass. An increase in DMS(P) and its oxidation product dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) cellular contents have been frequently observed in cellular stress conditions. To test this, we have first analysed the natural distribution of DMS(P,O) cellular contents in the North Sea. Secondly, we have measured DMS(P,O) cellular contents in monospecific cultures of several key species of the North Sea and their responses to salinity variations. Our main working hypothesis is that DMSP acts as an osmoregulator and/or as an antioxidant, depending on the species. The DMS(P,O) annual cycle in the Southern Bight of the North Sea revealed a seasonality linked to the spring phytoplankton communities succession: (1) colonial diatoms (reappearing in autumn), (2) Chaetoceros spp. (3) P. globosa, (4) large-size summer diatoms (mainly Guinardia spp.), and (5) dinoflagellates. Spatial gradients of DMS(P) were related to those of phytoplankton biomass, itself related to the inputs of nutrients from the Scheldt estuary. It also discharges suspended matter in which DMSO may have been produced by anaerobic oxidation of DMS. Laboratory measurements confirmed a large variability in DMSP cellular contents between the six studied diatoms (Nitzschia closterium, Skeletonema costatum, Thalassiosira rotula, Chaetoceros socialis, Chaetoceros debilis, and Guinardia delicatula), low producers in comparison with P. globosa and even more with Heterocapsa triquetra (Dinoflagellate). In particular, communities 2 and 4 have lower DMSP cellular contents than community 1 (N. closterium, S. costatum and T. rotula). Senescence induces a decrease in DMSP/DMSO suggesting an oxidative stress caused by nutrients and/or light limitation in DMSP producers. In S. costatum, DMSP seems to play an osmoregulatory role and is oxidised into DMSO in hyposaline conditions. In P. globosa and H. triquetra, an oxidative stress appears in hypo- and hypersaline conditions diverging from their salinity optimum. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

No description available.

Thesis (PhD(Agric) (Plant Biotechnology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Salinity is one of the major limiting abiotic stresses on legume plant yield, leading to early senescence of root nodules. This occurs because of accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant cells under salinity stress. Concurrent with the increase in cellular reactive oxygen species levels is the increase in cellular antioxidants and corresponding antioxidant enzymes. This feature is observed mostly in the shoots and roots of more tolerant genotypes compared to the susceptible genotypes. It is accepted that the mechanism of plant tolerance to stress is dependent upon the response of the antioxidant systems. Most studies carried out on shoot tissues suggest that scavenging of ROS by the plant antioxidant system is modulated by nitric oxide (NO). However, the pathways by which NO mediates such antioxidant responses are not fully understood. For legumes, salinity stress has adverse effects on yield and this is in part due to inhibition of nitrogen fixation in the root nodules of the legumes, which causes severe nitrogen starvation in nitrogen-deficient soils. Nodules are specialized organs comprising of both the rhizobia and the plant tissue, hence the physiological aspects may vary from the findings from the leaves. It was therefore deemed necessary to establish the role of NO on the nodule antioxidant system in the absence and presence of salinity stress. For the purposes of this study, the effect of both exogenously applied NO and endogenous NO on superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione content was determined. The studies involved the use of nitric oxide donors like sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and diethylenetriamine/nitric oxide adduct (DETA/NO), their respective fixed controls potassium ferricyanide and diethylenetriamine (DETA), plus a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (to inhibit nitric oxide production by the enzyme nitric oxide synthase) on nodulated roots. The data obtained in this work points out specifically at roles played by nitric oxide in regulating superoxide dismutases, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione during salinity stress and proposes a link between nitric oxide-mediated changes in these antioxidant systems and salinity stress tolerance. Both the exogenously applied and endogenous nitric oxide increases the enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione reductase (GR). However, there is both time dependency and nitric oxide concentration dependency on the enzyme activities. The total SOD enzyme activity increases upon nitric oxide exposure and with time of exposure. The individual SOD isoforms identified and studied in the root nodules all contribute to this increase in SOD activity upon nitric oxide treatment except for MnSOD I. This increase in activity is regulated at transcriptional level as the RT-PCR results targeting the individual isoforms reveals an increase in transcript levels after 6 hours of nitric oxide treatment. However, the CuZn SOD I isoform transcripts are reduced upon nitric oxide treatment. A similar response was also observed in GPX enzyme activity in which nitric oxide increased the GPX activity above all the controls. The GR enzyme activity exhibits an opposite response because the activity decreases with time of exposure to NO and concentration of NO. In order to determine the effect of NO under saline conditions, an experiment was set up that involved incubation of nodulated roots in solutions containing 150 mM NaCl. The stressed nodules exhibited generally higher levels of enzyme activities than the non-stressed nodules. Furthermore, exposure to nitric oxide donor in combination with NaCl induced even higher activities of SOD and GPX than NaCl or nitric oxide donor alone. There were also higher levels of reduced glutathione and total glutathione recorded under stress compared to optimal conditions. Nitric oxide increased the concentration of these forms of glutathione, suggesting an improved redox status based on the GSH/GSSG ratios under salinity stress in the presence of nitric oxide. Attenuation of nitric oxide synthesis with L-Nω-Nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME) reverses all the recorded effects of nitric oxide on antioxidant enzymes and glutathione pool. This was observed in salinity stressed nodules and non-stressed nodules. This work further establishes that NO plays a pivotal role in modulating the enzymatic activities through a pathway that is mediated by guanosine 3,5-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP). The experiment involving the inhibition of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sCG) (an enzyme that catalyzes the biosynthesis of cGMP), cell-permeable cGMP anaologue and L-NAME revealed that GPx activity is modulated through a cGMP-dependent pathway and NO is positioned up-stream of cGMP in the pathway leading to improved GPX activity. Cyclic GMP also modulates the GPX activity in a concentration dependent manner. NO improves the redox status of the cell under both saline conditions and non-saline conditions and this effect is modulated through a cGMP-dependent pathway. It is thus rational to conclude that; in the root nodules of legumes, like in other plant tissues, the increased accumulation of antioxidants and the increased activity of their corresponding enzymes, as modulated through the cGMP-dependent pathway by nitric oxide, confer root nodule tolerance to salinity. This concept directly points out at an attractive strategy for developing legumes that are genetically improved for enhanced root nodule tolerance to salinity; via differential regulation of antioxidants and antioxidant enzyme genes in the root nodules under abiotic stress. Towards attaining the goal for such genetic improvement, experiments involving construction of an abiotic stress-responsive and nodule-specific chimeric promoter were carried out. By fusing the 5-untranslated (5-UTR) region of the LEA gene that contains an abiotic stress-responsive cis-acting element (from theGmPM9 promoter) to the nodulin N23 promoter bearing the highly functional cluster of motifs for nodule specificity, the candidate nodule specific promoter that is abiotic stress responsive (ASREF/NSP) was constructed. The construct harbouring this ASREF/NSP chimeric promoter was fused to the -glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene so as to study the functionality of the promoter in Medigaco truncatula plants. The construct was delivered into the Medicago plants through Agrobacterium rhyzogenes mediated transformation to produce composite Medicago plants. The transgenic roots have been cultured for futher manipulation and to confirm the functionality of the promoter. Furthermore several strategies can be deployed via the use of this chimeric promoter so as to enhance the nodular antioxidant system. This would involve either gene regulator-chimeric promoter fusion or the use of a single gene approach. As part of this work, the MtNOA gene homologous to AtNOAs, has been cloned from Medicago trancatula and put as ASREF/NSP fusion in a binary vector pBINPLUS and delivered into Medicago trancatula for nodule-specific and abiotic stress-induced nitric oxide synthesis. Since there is no plant NOS identified to date, the possibility of the use of a regulatory gene in this aspect is still limited. There are other options involving the use of the chimeric promoter with the individual genes encoding the antioxidant enzyme genes such as genes encoding SOD, GPX and the glutathione synthatase to enhance the plant antioxidant system during abiotic stress. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMMING: Geen opsomming was ingedien met die tesis

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / No cultivo de plantas medicinais as condiÃÃes de salinidade e de luz podem exercer influÃncia no rendimento e qualidade final da produÃÃo de fitomassa. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido no NÃcleo de Ensino e Pesquisa em Agricultura Urbana (NEPAU) da Universidade Federal do Cearà â UFC, em Fortaleza â CE, com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito de diferentes nÃveis luminosidades e de salinidade na Ãgua de irrigaÃÃo no crescimento e respostas fisiolÃgicas de trÃs espÃcies medicinais do gÃnero Plectranthus. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental em parcelas subsubdivididas, com cinco repetiÃÃes, sendo as parcelas referentes ao fator ambiente (pleno sol e telado), as subparcelas referentes aos nÃveis de salinidade na Ãgua de irrigaÃÃo - CEa (0,7; 1,9; 3,1; 4,3 e 5,5 dS m-1), e as subsubparcelas Ãs trÃs espÃcies do gÃnero Plectranthus (P. amboinicus, P. barbatus e P. grandis). O experimento teve a duraÃÃo de 60 dias, apÃs o transplantio, sendo realizadas as seguintes avaliaÃÃes: Ãrea foliar, produÃÃo massa seca da parte aÃrea, massa seca das raÃzes, trocas gasosas, teores de clorofila e acÃmulo de solutos orgÃnicos e inorgÃnicos. O estresse salino induziu reduÃÃes significativas no crescimento e nas trocas gasosas das trÃs espÃcies avaliadas, com as maiores reduÃÃes sendo verificadas nas plantas expostas a pleno sol. A resposta à salinidade da espÃcie P. grandis foi menos influenciada pelo ambiente de cultivo do que nas duas outras espÃcies estudadas. A salinidade afetou a partiÃÃo de matÃria seca, sendo as raÃzes mais afetadas do que a parte aÃrea. Em relaÃÃo a produÃÃo de matÃria seca total, verifica-se que as trÃs espÃcies estudadas se mostraram tolerantes ou moderadamente tolerantes à salinidade de atà 3,1 dS m-1, porÃm na salinidade de 5,5 dS m-1 todas se mostraram sensÃveis ao excesso de sais na Ãgua de irrigaÃÃo. Considerando-se o grau de reduÃÃo na produÃÃo de massa seca da parte aÃrea (parte de interesse comercial), poderia-se recomendar o cultivo da espÃcie P. grandis quando se dispÃe de Ãgua de irrigaÃÃo com CEa de atà 3,1 dS m-1. Verificou-se aumento expressivo na acumulaÃÃo de Na+ e Cl-, e reduÃÃes no teor de potÃssio, tanto nas hastes quanto nas folhas. Em decorrÃncia do maior acÃmulo de sÃdio nas hastes, a relaÃÃo dos Ãons Na+/K+ nesta parte da planta atingiu valor de 1,6 na CEa de 5,5 dS m-1, indicando um possÃvel desequilÃbrio nutricional e toxicidade de Ãons. Para os solutos orgÃnicos, o teor de carboidratos nÃo foi alterado com o aumento da CEa, porÃm os teores de prolina e N-aminossolÃveis aumentaram em resposta ao estresse, sendo que no caso da prolina os aumentos foram maiores na espÃcie P. grandis cultivada em pleno sol. / Growing medicinal plants in the conditions of salinity and light can exert influence on yield and final quality of the biomass production. This work was developed at the Center for Teaching and Research in Urban Agriculture (NEPAU), Federal University of Cearà - UFC, Fortaleza - CE, with the objective of evaluating the effect of different luminosities and salinity levels in irrigation water on growth and physiological responses of three medicinal species of the genus Plectranthus. It was used the completely randomized split plots with five repetitions, the plots had corresponded to the environmental factor (mesh with 50% luminosity and full sunlight) and the split plots for five levels of salt stress in irrigation water â CEw (0.7, 1.9, 3.1, 4.3 and 5.5 dS m-1 ) and the subsubplots the medicinal species (P. amboinicus, P. barbatus and P. grandis). The experiment lasted for 60 days after transplanting, being determined by the following: leaf area, dry mass production of shoot, root dry mass, gas exchange, chlorophyll content and accumulation of organic and inorganic solutes. Salt stress induced significant reductions in the growth and gas exchange of the three species evaluated, with the largest reductions being observed in plants exposed to full sunlight. The response to the salinity of the species P. grandis was less influenced by growth environment than in the other two species. Salinity affected the dry matter partitioning, the roots being more affected than the shoot. Considering the total dry matter production, it is found that all three species studied were moderately tolerant or salinity tolerance of up to 3.1 dS m-1 but on the salinity of 5.5 dS m-1 all were sensitive to excess salts in the irrigation water. Considering the degree of reduction in the production of raw party area (part of commercial interest), one could recommend the cultivation of the species P. grandis when it has irrigation water with ECw up to 3.1 dS m-1 . There was significant increase in the accumulation of Na+ and Cl- , and reductions in potassium content, both on the stems as the leaves. Due to the higher accumulation of sodium in the stems, the ratio of Na+ /K+ in this part of the plant reached a value of 1.5 in CEa of 5.5 dS m-1 , indicating a possible nutritional imbalance and ion toxicity. For the organic solutes, the carbohydrate content was not changed with increasing salinity but the concentrations of proline and N-aminosoluble increased in response to stress and in the case of proline elevations were higher in the species P. grandis grown in full sunlight.

Submitted by (lucia.rodrigues@ufrpe.br) on 2016-09-20T12:09:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Celestino Jolamo Tsimpho.pdf: 2365699 bytes, checksum: 63c08c18c6fba4974226bf540d8d6b71 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-20T12:09:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Celestino Jolamo Tsimpho.pdf: 2365699 bytes, checksum: 63c08c18c6fba4974226bf540d8d6b71 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-23 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / In regions of arid and semi-arid climate, is often the water used for irrigation to contain excess soluble salts, and the use of water without an adequate management (leaching fraction), can lead to salinization of soils, reducing the growth and development of crops. Corn is one of the most economically important crops and most researched due to the nutritional value. However, in many areas of the world, their productivity is limited due to various biotic and abiotic stresses, such as irrigation water and soil salinization. For this reasons, the objective of the work was to evaluate the use of saline water and leaching fractions in the maize crop production. The experiment was carried out at headquarter campus of University Federal Rural of Pernambuco State, Brazil (UFRPE-Recife), under a completely randomized experimental design in factorial arranjement (2x5), with five leaching fractions (FL 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20%) and two levels of water saline (electric conductivity-EC 1.2 and 3.3 dS m-1). The biometric variables and production affected by the treatments were: ear weight without straw, pulp yield hydrated, height of insertion of ear, fresh and dry weight of shoots. It was observed a reduction in enzyme activity due to leaching fractions, indicating that there was a reduction of salt stress and consequently poor performance of antioxidants.Nutritionally there was a reduction of phosphorus and potassium in plants with the increase in leaching fractions. / Em regiões de clima árido e semiarido é frequente a água utilizada na irrigação conter sais solúveis em excesso, e a utilização dessas águas sem um manejo adequado (fração de lixiviação), pode provocar a salinização dos solos, reduzindo o crescimento e o desenvolvimento das plantas. Além disso, em plantas submetidas ao estresse salino, aumenta a produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio (ROS), devido à alteração de processos de transferência de elétrons durante a fotossíntese e respiração. O milho é uma das culturas de maior importância econômica e mais estudada devido ao seu valor nutricional. No entanto, em muitas áreas do mundo, a sua produtividade é limitada devido a vários estresses bióticos e abiótico, como à salinização da água de irrigação e do solo. Desta forma, o estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da salinidade da água de irrigação e frações de lixiviação cultivo de milho (Zea mays L, AG 1051). Adotou-se o delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 5 x 2, com quatro repetições, sendo cinco frações de lixiviação (0, 5, 10, 15 e 20%) e duas condutividades elétricas da água de irrigação (1,2 e 3,3 dS m-1). O experimento foi conduzido no campus sede da UFRPE, em Recife, e decorreu no período compreendido entre 9 de Novembro de 2010 a 21 de Janeiro de 2011. O manejo da irrigação foi realizado diariamente e as lâminas de irrigação foram estimadas com base na evapotranspiração da cultura. A variáveis estudadas biometricas e de produção foram: o peso de espiga sem palha; produtividade de polpa hidratada; altura de inserção de espiga; massa fresca e seca da parte aérea. També foi observada a atividade enzimática em função das frações de lixiviação, facto que indica a redução do estresse salino e consequentemente fraca atuação dos antioxidantes. Nutricionalmente ocorreu redução dos teores de fósforo e potássio nas plantas com o incremento das frações de lixiviação.