Differential competence of redox-regulatory mechanism under extremes of temperature determines growth performances and cross tolerance in two indica rice cultivars

The present study investigated the relationship between reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation (total and individual), antioxidant and radical scavenging capacity (total and individual), transcript abundance of some antioxidative genes and oxidative damages to membrane protein and lipid in germinating tissues of a salt resistant (SR26B) and salt sensitive (Ratna) rice cultivars under extremes of temperature to elucidate redox-regulatory mechanism governing differential oxidative stress tolerance associated with better growth and yield potential and identification of cross tolerance, if any. Imbibitional heat and chilling stress caused disruption of redox-homeostasis and oxidative damage to a newly assembled membrane system by increasing pro-oxidant/antioxidant ratio and by aggravating membrane lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation [measured in terms of accumulation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), free carbonyl content (CO groups), and membrane protein thiol level (MPTL)]. A concomitant increase in accumulation of individual ROS (superoxide and hydrogen peroxide) and significant reduction of radical scavenging activity (assessed in terms of ABTS, FRAP and DPPH methods), non-enzymatic and enzymatic anti-oxidative defense [assessed in terms of total thiol content and activities of superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1), catalase (EC 1.11.1.6), ascorbate peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.11), and glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.2)] are also noticed in both the salt sensitive (Ratna) and resistant (SR26B) germinating tissues of rice cultivars. When compared, salt resistant cultivar SR26B was found to suffer significantly less redox-imbalance and related oxidative damages to membrane protein and lipid as compared to salt sensitive cultivar Ratna. The salt tolerant cultivar SR26B resisted imbibitional chilling and heat stress due to its early preparedness to combat oxidative stress by up-regulation of gene expression of anti-oxidative enzymes and better capacity of redox-regulation and mitigation of oxidative damage to membrane protein and lipid as compared to salt sensitive cultivar Ratna, under the same magnitude of imbibitional heat and chilling stress. A model for redox-homeostasis in which the ROS-antioxidant interaction acts as a metabolic interface for up-regulation of gene expression necessary for cross tolerance is also proposed.