Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T01:04:41.376Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparative study of leaf antioxidant activity as a possible mechanism for frost tolerance in ‘Hass’ and ‘Ettinger’ avocado cultivars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2019

A. Weil ,
C. Sofer-Arad ,
Y. Bar-Noy ,
O. Liran  and
L. Rubinovich Open the ORCID record for L. Rubinovich [Opens in a new window]
A. Weil
Affiliation:
Northern R&D, MIGAL – Galilee Research Institute, P.O. Box 831, Kiryat Shemona 11016, Israel
C. Sofer-Arad
Affiliation:
Northern R&D, MIGAL – Galilee Research Institute, P.O. Box 831, Kiryat Shemona 11016, Israel
Y. Bar-Noy
Affiliation:
Western Galilee Agricultural R&D, Acre 1032900, Israel
O. Liran
Affiliation:
Remote Sensing Spectroscopy Group, MIGAL – Galilee Research Institute, P.O. Box 831, Kiryat Shemona 11016, Israel
L. Rubinovich*
Affiliation:
Northern R&D, MIGAL – Galilee Research Institute, P.O. Box 831, Kiryat Shemona 11016, Israel
*
Author for correspondence: L. Rubinovich, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A major drawback of avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is susceptibility to frosts, which reduces yields and limits its geographic distribution and market growth. Whereas the frost-susceptible cultivar ‘Hass’ leads the global avocado market, cv. ‘Ettinger’, although commercially less important, is considered frost-tolerant. The mechanism behind the greater frost tolerance of ‘Ettinger’ has not yet been elucidated; therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the differences between the frost responses of the two cultivars. The results showed that detached ‘Ettinger’ branches had greater tolerance than ‘Hass’ to controlled frost stress. Tissue browning caused by methyl viologen oxidative cell damage, superoxide accumulation in leaf discs following wounding and browning of cut surfaces in branches were much lower in ‘Ettinger’ than in ‘Hass’, suggesting greater antioxidant activity (AA) in the former. In leaf extracts, AA was significantly higher in ‘Ettinger’ than in ‘Hass’, but osmolarity was similar in the two cultivars. Total phenolics content was significantly higher in ‘Ettinger’ but addition of a protein mask did not significantly reduce AA in either cultivar. Interestingly, following the freezing treatment, AA increased in ‘Ettinger’ and remained almost unchanged in ‘Hass’, while osmolarity was unaffected in either cultivar. These results suggest that the greater frost-tolerance of ‘Ettinger’ than ‘Hass’ is due largely to its greater AA, which springs mainly from a non-enzymatic source, i.e. accumulation of phenolic compounds. Based on the current study, future applications may be developed to minimize frost damage in avocado orchards.

Keywords

Abiotic stressantioxidant activityfreezingfrost tolerancePersea americanapolyphenols
Type
Crops and Soils Research Paper
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 157 , Issue 4 , May 2019 , pp. 342 - 349
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alcaraz, ML, Thorp, TG and Hormaza, JI (2013) Phenological growth stages of avocado (Persea americana) according to the BBCH scale. Scientia Horticulturae 164, 434–439.Google Scholar
Arias, NS, Bucci, SJ, Scholz, FG and Goldstein, G (2015) Freezing avoidance by supercooling in Olea europaea cultivars: the role of apoplastic water, solute content and cell wall rigidity. Plant, Cell and Environment 38, 2061–2070.Google Scholar
Ayala Silva, T and Ledesma, N (2014) Avocado history, biodiversity and production. In Nandwani, D (ed.), Sustainable Horticultural Systems. Sustainable Development and Biodiversity, vol. 2. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, pp. 157–205.Google Scholar
Baker, NR (2008) Chlorophyll fluorescence: a probe of photosynthesis in vivo. Annual Review of Plant Biology 59, 89–113.Google Scholar
Bar-Noy, Y, Sofer-Arad, C, Perel, M, Cohen, H, Senesh, N, Noy, M and Rubinovich, L (2019) Frost protection efficiency evaluation in avocado with a horizontal wind machine. Fruits 74, 124–129.Google Scholar
Basu, U, Good, AG and Taylor, GJ (2001) Transgenic Brassica napus plants overexpressing aluminium-induced mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase cDNA are resistant to aluminium. Plant, Cell and Environment 24, 1269–1278.Google Scholar
Bergh, B (1992) The origin, nature, and genetic improvement of the avocado. California Avocado Society Yearbook 76, 61–75.Google Scholar
Charrier, G, Ngao, J, Saudreau, M and Améglio, T (2015) Effects of environmental factors and management practices on microclimate, winter physiology, and frost resistance in trees. Frontiers in Plant Science 6, 1–18.Google Scholar
Cooper, W and Peynado, A (1957) Salt tolerance and cold-hardiness tests on avocado trees. Journal of the Rio Grande Valley Horticultural Society 11, 67–74.Google Scholar
Das, K and Roychoudhury, A (2014) Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and response of antioxidants as ROS-scavengers during environmental stress in plants. Frontiers in Environmental Science 2, 1–13.Google Scholar
De Melo-Abreu, P, Villalobos, FJ and Mateos, L (2016) Frost protection. In Villalobos, FJ and Fereres, E (eds). Principles of Agronomy for Sustainable Agriculture. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, pp. 443–457.Google Scholar
Deng, G-F, Xu, X-R, Guo, Y-J, Xia, E-Q, Li, S, Wu, S, Chen, F, Ling, W-H and Li, H-B (2012) Determination of antioxidant property and their lipophilic and hydrophilic phenolic contents in cereal grains. Journal of Functional Foods 4, 906–914.Google Scholar
Ehlert, B and Hincha, DK (2008) Chlorophyll fluorescence imaging accurately quantifies freezing damage and cold acclimation responses in Arabidopsis leaves. Plant Methods 4, 1–7.Google Scholar
Hashempour, A, Ghasemnezhad, M, Fotouhi Ghazvini, R and Sohani, MM (2014) The physiological and biochemical responses to freezing stress of olive plants treated with salicylic acid. Russian Journal of Plant Physiology 61, 443–450.Google Scholar
Janda, T, Szalai, G, Rios-Gonzalez, K, Veisz, O and Páldi, E (2003) Comparative study of frost tolerance and antioxidant activity in cereals. Plant Science 164, 301–306.Google Scholar
Kramer, DM, Johnson, G, Kiirats, O and Edwards, GE (2004) New fluorescence parameters for the determination of QA redox state and excitation energy fluxes. Photosynthesis Research 79, 209–218.Google Scholar
Le Deunff, E, Davoine, C, Le Dantec, C, Billard, JP and Huault, C (2004) Oxidative burst and expression of germin/oxo genes during wounding of ryegrass leaf blades: comparison with senescence of leaf sheaths. Plant Journal 38, 421–431.Google Scholar
Li, W, Teng, F, Li, T and Zhou, Q (2013) Simultaneous generation and germline transmission of multiple gene mutations in rat using CRISPR-Cas systems. Nature Biotechnology 31, 684–686.Google Scholar
Migliore, G, Farina, V, Tinervia, S, Matranga, G and Schifani, G (2017) Consumer interest towards tropical fruit: factors affecting avocado fruit consumption in Italy. Agricultural and Food Economics 5, 24–24.Google Scholar
Nasr, CB, Ayed, N and Metche, M (1996) Quantitative determination of the polyphenolic content of pomegranate peel. Zeitschrift fur Lebensmittel-Untersuchung und Forschung 203, 374–378.Google Scholar
Nishitani, C, Hirai, N, Komori, S, Wada, M, Okada, K, Osakabe, K, Yamamoto, T and Osakabe, Y (2016) Efficient genome editing in apple using a CRISPR/Cas9 system. Scientific Reports 6, 1–8.Google Scholar
Parvanova, D, Ivanov, S, Konstantinova, T, Karanov, E, Atanassov, A, Tsvetkov, T, Alexieva, V and Djilianov, D (2004) Transgenic tobacco plants accumulating osmolytes show reduced oxidative damage under freezing stress. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 42, 57–63.Google Scholar
Payne, AC, Mazzer, A, Clarkson, GJJ and Taylor, G (2013) Antioxidant assays – consistent findings from FRAP and ORAC reveal a negative impact of organic cultivation on antioxidant potential in spinach but not watercress or rocket leaves. Food Science & Nutrition 1, 439–444.Google Scholar
Perry, KB (1998) Basics of frost and freeze protection for horticultural crops. HortTechnology 8, 10–15.Google Scholar
Pramsohler, M and Neuner, G (2013) Dehydration and osmotic adjustment in apple stem tissue during winter as it relates to the frost resistance of buds. Tree Physiology 33, 807–816.Google Scholar
Rizza, F, Pagani, D, Stanca, AM and Cattivelli, L (2001) Use of chlorophyll fluorescence to evaluate the cold acclimation and freezing tolerance of winter and spring oats. Plant Breeding 120, 389–396.Google Scholar
Rouse, RE and Knight, RJ (1991) Evaluation and observations of avocado cultivars for subtropical climates. Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society 104, 24–27.Google Scholar
Rubinovich, L and Weiss, D (2010) The Arabidopsis cysteine-rich protein GASA4 promotes GA responses and exhibits redox activity in bacteria and in planta. Plant Journal 64, 1018–1027.Google Scholar
Schaffer, B, Wolstenholme, BN and Whiley, AW (eds) (2013) The Avocado: Botany, Production and Uses. Wallingford, UK: CABI.Google Scholar
Schreiber, U, Schliwa, U and Bilger, W (1986) Continuous recording of photochemical and non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching with a new type of modulation fluorometer. Photosynthesis Research 10, 51–62.Google Scholar
Snyder, RL and de Melo-Abreu, JP (2005) Frost Protection: Fundamentals, Practice, and Economics, vol. 1. Environment and Natural Resources Series 10. Rome, Italy: FAO.Google Scholar
Stern, RA (2015) The photosynthesis inhibitor metamitron is a highly effective thinner for ‘Golden Delicious’ apple in a warm climate. Fruits 70, 127–134.Google Scholar
Suzuki, N and Mittler, R (2006) Reactive oxygen species and temperature stresses: a delicate balance between signaling and destruction. Physiologia Plantarum 126, 45–51.Google Scholar
Tao, DL, Öquist, G and Wingsle, G (1998) Active oxygen scavengers during cold acclimation of Scots pine seedlings in relation to freezing tolerance. Cryobiology 37, 38–45.Google Scholar
Tzulker, R, Glazer, I, Bar-Ilan, I, Holland, D, Aviram, M and Amir, R (2007) Antioxidant activity, polyphenol content, and related compounds in different fruit juices and homogenates prepared from 29 different pomegranate accessions. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55, 9559–9570.Google Scholar
Verslues, PE, Agarwal, M, Katiyar-Agarwal, S, Zhu, J and Zhu, JK (2006) Methods and concepts in quantifying resistance to drought, salt and freezing, abiotic stresses that affect plant water status. Plant Journal 45, 523–539.Google Scholar
Wei, Z, Gao, T, Liang, B, Zhao, Q, Ma, F and Li, C (2018) Effects of exogenous melatonin on methyl viologen-mediated oxidative stress in apple leaf. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 19, 1–7.Google Scholar
Wigoda, N, Ben-Nissan, G, Granot, D, Schwartz, A and Weiss, D (2006) The gibberellin-induced, cysteine-rich protein GIP2 from Petunia hybrida exhibits in planta antioxidant activity. Plant Journal 48, 796–805.Google Scholar
Xin, Z and Browse, J (1998) Eskimo1 mutants of Arabidopsis are constitutively freezing-tolerant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 95, 7799–7804.Google Scholar