Abstract
Withania somnifera L. seedlings were grown in half-strength MS (Murashige and Skoog) basal medium for 4 weeks and then transferred to full-strength MS liquid medium for 3 weeks. The sustainable plants were subcultured in the same medium but with different concentrations (0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 μM) of Cu for 7 and 14 days. The growth parameters (root length, shoot length, leaf length and total number of leaves per plant) showed a declining trend in the treated plants in a concentration dependant manner. Roots and leaves were analyzed for protein profiling and antioxidant enzymes [catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6), superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) and guaiacol peroxidase (GPX, EC 1.11.1.7)]. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of crude protein extracts showed the appearance of some new proteins due to Cu treatment. In plant samples grown with 25 and 50 μM of Cu, a rapid increase in antioxidant activities were noticed but at higher concentration (100 and 200 μM) the activities declined. Isoforms of CAT, SOD and GPX were separated using non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and concentration specific new isoforms were noticed during the study. Isoforms of the antioxidant enzymes synthesized due to Cu stress may be used as biomarkers for other species grown under metal stress.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aebi HE (1983) Catalase. In: Bergmeyer H (ed) Method of enzymatic analysis. Chemie, Weinheim, pp 273–277
Alam N, Hossain M, Khalil MI, Moniruzzaman M, Sulaiman SA, Gan SH (2011) Recent advances in elucidating the biological properties of Withania somnifera and its potential role in health benefits. Phytochem Rev 11(1):97–112
Beauchamp C, Fridovich I (1971) Superoxide dismutase: improved assay applicable to acrylamide gels. Anal Biochem 44:276–287
Behera B, Das AB, Mittra B (2009) Changes in proteins and antioxidative enzymes in tree mangroves Bruguiera parviflora and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza under high NaCl stress. Bio Di Con 2:71–77
Bergmeyer HU (1974) Methods of enzymatic analysis, 2nd edn. Academic, New Work
Cobbett CS (2000) Phytochelatins and their roles in heavy metal detoxification. Plant Physiol 123:825–832
Cuypers A, Vangronsveld J, Clijsters H (2002) Peroxidases in roots and primary leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris copper and zinc phytotoxicity: a comparison. J Plant Physiol 159:869–876
Damerval C, Vienne P, Zivy M, Thiellement H (1986) Technical improvement in two-dimensional electrophoresis increase the level of genetic variation detected in wheat seedling proteins. Electrophoresis 7:52–54
Das K, Samanta L, Chainy GBN (2000) A modified spectrophotometric assay of superoxide dismutase using nitrite formation by superoxide radicals. Ind J Biochem Biophys 37:201–204
Dat J, Vandenabeele S, Vranova E, Van Montagu M, Inze D, Van Breusegem F (2000) Dual action of the active oxygen species during plant stress responses. Cell Mol Life Sci 57:779–795
De Vos C, Schat H, Vooijs R, Ernst W (1989) Copper induced damage to the permeability barrier in roots of Silene cucubalus. J Plant Physiol 135:164–165
Dhuley JN (1998) Effect of Ashwagandha on lipid peroxidation in stress-induced animals. J Ethnopharmacol 60:173–178
El-Khatib AA, Hegazy AK, El-Kassem AA (2011) Cadmium-induced response of protein profile and antioxidant enzymes in aquatic macrophytes Myriophyllum spicatum and Ceratophyllum demersum. J Environ Stud 7:17–23
Ercal N, Gurer-Orhan H, Aykin-Burns N (2001) Toxic metals and oxidative stress part I: mechanisms involved in metal induced oxidative damage. Curr Top Med Chem 1:529–539
Fridovich I (1986) Biological effects of the superoxide radical. Arch Biochem Biophys 247:1–11
Gao S, Yan R, Cao M, Yang W, Wang S, Chen F (2008) Effects of copper on growth, antioxidant enzymes and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activities in Jatropha curcas L. seedling. Plant Soil Environ 54:117–122
Gill SS, Tuteja N (2010) Reactive oxygen species and antioxidant machinery in abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. Plant Physiol Biochem 48:909–930
Gupta H, Cuypers A, Vangronsveld J, Clijsters H (1999) Copper affects the enzymes of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle and its related metabolites in the roots of Phaseolus vulgaris. Physiol Plant 106:262–267
Halliwell B, Gutteridge JMC (1984) Oxygen toxicity, oxygen radicals, transition metals and disease. Biochem J 219:1–14
Halliwell B, Gutteridge JMC (1999) Free radicals in biology and medicine, 4th edn. Oxford University Press, New York
Hamill DE, Brewbaker JL (1969) Isoenzyme polymorphism in flowering plants. IV. The peroxidase isoenzymes of maize (Zea mays L.). Physiol Plant 22:945–958
Khatun S, Ali MB, Hahn E, Paek K (2008) Copper toxicity in Withania somnifera: growth and antioxidant enzymes responses of in vitro plants. Environ Exp Bot 64:279–285
Laemmli UK (1970) Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature 227:680–685
Li F, Shi J, Shen C, Chen G, Hu S, Chen Y (2009) Proteomic characterization of copper stress response in Elsholtzia splendens roots and leaves. Plant Mol Biol 71:251–263
Lowry OH, Rosebrough NJ, Farr AL, Randall RJ (1951) Protein measurement with the folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem 193:265–275
Murashige T, Skoog F (1962) A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassay with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol Plant 15:473–497
Ouzounidou G, Eleftheriou E, Karataglis S (1992) Ecophysiological and ultrastructural effects of copper in Thlaspi ochroleucum (Cruciferae). Can J Bot 70:947–957
Peng HY, Yang X, Yang MJ, Tian SK (2006) Responses of antioxidant enzyme system to copper toxicity and copper detoxification in the leaves of Elsholtzia splenden. J Plant Nutr 29:1619–1635
Raven JA, Evans MCW, Korb RE (1999) The role of trace metals in photosynthetic electron transport in O2-evolving organisms. Photosynth Res 60:111–149
Saha D, Mandal S, Saha A (2012) Copper induced oxidative stress in tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves. J Environ Biol 33:861–866
Salt DE, Smith RD, Raskin I (1998) Phytoremediation. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol 49:643–668
Sharma P, Jha AB, Dubey RS, Pessarakli M (2012) Reactive oxygen species, oxidative damage, and anti-oxidative defense mechanism in plants under stressful conditions. J Bot 2012:1–26
Sing PK, Tewari RK (2003) Cadmium toxicity induced changes in plant water relations and oxidative metabolism of Brassica juncea L. plants. J Environ Biol 24:107–112
Singh B, Saxena AK, Chandan KK, Gupta DK, Bhutani KK, Anand KK (2001) Adaptogenic activity of a novel withanolide-free aqueous fraction from the roots of Withania somnifera Dunal. Phytother Res 15:311–318
Switzer RC (1979) A highly sensitive silver stain for detecting proteins and peptides in polyacrylamide gels. Anal Biochem 98:231–237
Tanyolac D, Ekmekci Y, Unalan S (2007) Changes in photochemical and antioxidant enzyme activities in maize (Zea mays L.) leaves exposed to excess copper. Chemosphere 67:89–98
Tewari RK, Kumar P, Sharma PN (2006) Antioxidant responses to enhanced generation of superoxide anion radical and hydrogen peroxide in the copper-stressed mulberry plants. Planta 223:1145–1153
Tomsett AB, Thurman DA (1988) Molecular biology of metal tolerance of plants. Plant Cell Environ 11:383–394
Vitoria AP, Lea PJ, Azevedo RA (2001) Antioxidant enzymes responses to cadmium in radish tissuies. Phytochem 57:701–710
Weckx JEJ, Clijsters HMM (1996) Oxidative damage and defence mechanisms in primary leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris as a result of root assimilation of toxic amounts of copper. Physiol Plant 96:506–512
Weiner MA, Weiner J (1994) Ashwagandha (Indian ginseng). In: Herbs that heal. Quantum Books, Mill Valley, pp 70–72
Woodbury W, Spencer A, Stahman M (1971) An improved procedure using ferricyanide for detecting catalase isozymes. Anal Biochem 44:301–305
Yruela I (2005) Copper in plants. Braz J Plant Physiol 17:145–156
Yruela I, Alfonso M, Baron M, Picorel R (2000) Copper effect on the protein composition of photosystem II. Physiol Plant 110:551–557
Zenk MH (1996) Heavy-metal detoxification in higher plants: a review. Gene 179:21–30
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of this work provided by the UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, Kolkata, India (Grant No. UGC-DAE-CSR-KC/ CRS/ 2009/ TE-01/ 1539). One of us (JRR) is thankful to the same funding agency for providing a Junior Research Fellowship and to Prof. M. Kar, Retired Professor, P.G. Department of Botany, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India for his valuable suggestions in reviewing the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rout, J.R., Ram, S.S., Das, R. et al. Copper-stress induced alterations in protein profile and antioxidant enzymes activities in the in vitro grown Withania somnifera L.. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 19, 353–361 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-013-0167-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-013-0167-5