DETERMINATION

OF PROLINE, AN ABIOTIC STRESS MARKER, IN ROOT EXUDATES OF EXCISED ROOT CULTURES OF FRUIT TREE ROOTSTOCKS UNDER SALT STRESS. Juan A. Marin; P. Andreu; A. Carrasco; A. Arbeloa Department of Pomology, Estacin Experimental de Aula Dei-CSIC Av. Montanana 1005. 50059 Zaragoza (Spain) jmarin@eead.csic.es

Root exudates have an important role in plant physiology, yet not completely known, mainly in rhizosphere interaction with other organisms (Walker et al., 2003. Plant Physiology, 132: 4451; Bais et al., 2006. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 57:23366). In addition, exudates composition is affected by stress (Basu et al., 1994. Plant Physiol. 106: 151- 158), thus opening a possible way to study plant response under stress. Proline might play a critical role in protecting plants under stress, particularly under salinity conditions (Yacici et al., 2007. Env. Exp. Bot. 61: 49-57). However, as far as we know, no attempts have been made to determine the proline content of root exudates. Here, we present preliminary results of the quantification of proline in root exudates of excised root cultures of Prunus rootstocks. Roots from micropropagated Prunus rootstocks (Marianna 2624, GF677, Adesoto 101) have been cultured in vitro as previously described (Marin and Marin, 1998. Plant Cell Rep. 18: 350-355) under increasing NaCl concentrations (0, 20, 60, 180 mM) to early detect their tolerance to salt stress (Andreu et al., 2009, submitted; Andreu et al., Abstract. Plant abiotic stress tolerance. International Congress, Vienna February, 2009). After 3 weeks of culture, the proline content of the MS-based liquid medium in which roots were cultured was determined following Bates et al. (1973. Plant and soil 39: 205-207). Proline concentration in root exudates from all rootstocks increased as salt concentration in the medium increased, following a trend similar to that of plant tissues. This opens the possible role of proline exudates to study plant responses to salt stress using non-destructive methods. In addition, proline exudates can be of great interest in the early detection of salt stress tolerance, provided that a relation between proline and salt stress tolerance could be found.
INTERNATIONAL MEETING. Resources valorization and biotechnological applications in arid and Saharan agrosystems. Djerba (Tunisia) 15-17 December 2009