PLANT BIOLOGY
ANIMAL BIOLOGY
SUBSCRIPTION
E-SUBSCRIPTION
 
MAP
MAIN PAGE

 

 

 

 

Arkhestova D.Kh., Gyaurgiev A.Kh., Gazheva R.A., Khaudov A.D., Sarbasheva A.I. Evaluation of corn (Zea mays L.) lines promising for breeding forage hybrids by chlorophyll content and expression of psaA and psbA genes. Sel'skokhozyaistvennaya Biologiya [Agricultural Biology], 2024, Vol. 59, № 5, p. 973-982.
(how to cite this article)

doi: 10.15389/agrobiology.2024.5.973eng

UDC: 633.15:631.522/.524:577.2

Acknowledgements:
Сarried out within the framework of the Federal project “Agrarian Science as a Step into the Future Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex", direction 4.1.1

 

EVALUATION OF CORN (Zea mays L.) LINES PROMISING FOR BREEDING FORAGE HYBRIDS BY CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT AND EXPRESSION OF psaA AND psbA GENES

D.Kh. Arkhestova ✉, A.Kh. Gyaurgiev, R.A. Gazheva, A.D. Khaudov,
A.I. Sarbasheva

Institute of Agriculture, Federal Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center RAS, 224, ul. Kirova, Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, 360004 Russia, e-mail: khavpacheva.dzhenet@mail.ru (✉ corresponding author), agyaurgiyev@inbox.ru, gazheva79@mail.ru, aliy-beck@yandex.ru, sarbashasi59@mail.ru

ORCID:
Arkhestova D.Kh. orcid.org/0000-0003-1239-3641
Khaudov A.D. orcid.org/0000-0002-5187-3229
Gyaurgiev A.Kh. orcid.org/0000-0001-8619-4130
Sarbasheva A.I. orcid.org/0000-0003-4708-1293
Gazheva R.A. orcid.org/0000-0002-6822-687X

Final revision received April 27, 2024
Accepted June 19, 2024

Corn (Zea mays L.) is a crucial fodder crop that holds one of the leading positions among feed plants. Chlorophylls a and b, the primary photosynthetic pigments, play a vital role in determining the physiological state of plants, assessing the impact of stress factors, and predicting productivity. It is known that chlorophylls and their derivatives, phytol and phytanic acid, are extremely important in mammalian nutrition due to their positive effects on metabolic dysfunctions. The content of phytol and phytanic acid directly depends on the chlorophyll content in feed. In this regard, providing ruminants with feeds high in chlorophyll content will improve the quality of obtained animal products. In this study, samples with high chlorophyll content in leaves were identified for the first time, and a correlation between the accumulation of total chlorophylls and expression levels of photosystem genes, including transcription of psaA and psbA genes, was demonstrated in maize breeding lines from the collection of the Institute of Agriculture of the Institute of Agriculture KBRC RAS. Our aim was to evaluate the chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b contents in promising corn breeding lines from the collection of the Institute of Agriculture — a branch of the Federal Scientific Center of Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center RAS (Institute of Agriculture KBSC RAS) to identify fodder-oriented lines with increased chlorophyll content for further use in breeding, as well as to determine possible correlations between chlorophyll content and expression of psaA and psbA genes. For the analysis, 150 breeding lines of maize were selected from the collection of Institute of Agriculture KBSC RAS, which are used to produce varieties and hybrids for grain and universal purposes. The plants were grown in experimental plots of the Institute of Agriculture of the KBRC RAS in 2023. The determination of chlorophyll a and b content in leaves was conducted using Folch reagent. For this purpose, 5-6 days after pollination, at noon, leaves from the fifth tier of the second plant in the row were collected. Leaf discs were cut from the middle of the leaf, avoiding midribs, homogenized in liquid nitrogen, and frozen at -80 °C. The expression of psaA and psbA genes was determined in the same tissues homogenized in liquid nitrogen, for which chlorophyll content was measured, using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel 2013 and GraphPad Prism v.9 software. The results revealed significant differences in chlorophyll content among the analyzed samples. Based on total chlorophyll content, corn lines were divided into three groups, with high (> 400 mg/g, 21 samples), medium (200-400 mg/g, 91 samples), and low (< 200 mg/g, 38 samples) content. The maximum amount of chlorophyll a was detected in line 726 (608.95 mg/g), while the minimum was in line 804 (88.95 mg/g), with a 6.85-fold difference. The ratio of chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b in different lines ranged from 1.72 to 2.65, which is consistent with previously obtained data for maize. The expression of photosystem genes psaA and psbA positively correlated with chlorophyll content. For instance, in lines 726 and 944 (maximum chlorophyll content), psaA gene transcription was 5.8 times higher, and psbA was 4.6 times higher compared to lines 804 and 849 (minimum chlorophyll content). The obtained results demonstrate significant variability in chlorophyll content and photosystem gene expression among different maize lines. The identified lines with high chlorophyll content (726, 728, 760, 847, 935, 944, 2193, and 8007) can serve as a basis for further breeding aimed at obtaining high-yielding maize hybrids with improved forage characteristics.

Keywords: Zea mays L., corn, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, photosynthesis, expression analysis, gene expression, psaA, psbА.

 

REFERENCES

  1. Karnatam K.S., Mythri B., Nisa W.U., Sharma H., Meena T.K., Rana P., Vikal Y., Gowda M., Dhillon B.S., Sandhu S. Silage maize as a potent candidate for sustainable animal husbandry development-perspectives and strategies for genetic enhancement. Frontiers in Genetics, 2023, 14: 1150132 CrossRef
  2. Shomakhov B.R., Bzhinaev F.Kh., Gyaurgiev A.Kh., Mataeva O.Kh. Izvestiya KBNTs RAN, 2022, 109(5): 149-157 CrossRef (in Russ.).
  3. Fomenko P.A., Bogatyreva E.V. Sel’skokhozyaystvennyy zhurnal, 2023, 16(2): 55-65 CrossRef (in Russ.).
  4. Sun H., Li M., Zhang Y., Zheng L., Zhang Y. Correlation between chlorophyll content and vegetation index of maize plants under different fertilizer treatments with multi-spectral imaging. Sensor Letters, 2013, 11(6-7): 1128-1133 CrossRef
  5. Theeuwen T., Logie L., Harbinson J., Aarts M. Genetics as a key to improving crop photosynthesis. Journal of Experimental Botany, 2022, 73(10): 3122-3137 CrossRef
  6. Ozakca D.U. Effect of abiotic stress on photosystem i-related gene transcription in photosynthetic organisms. In: Photosynthesis. Z. Dubinsky (ed.). InTech, 2013 CrossRef
  7. Sugiura M., Boussac A. Some Photosystem II properties depending on the D1 protein variants in Thermosynechococcus elongatus. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) — Bioenergetics, 2014, 1837(9): 1427-1434 CrossRef
  8. Li M., Lv R., Zhou H., Zi X. Dynamics and correlations of chlorophyll and phytol content with silage bacterial of different growth heights Pennisetum sinese. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2022, 13: 996970 CrossRef
  9. Sid'ko A.F., Botvich I.Y., Pisman T.I., Shevyrnogov A.P. Estimation of chlorophyll content and yield of wheat crops from reflectance spectra obtained by ground-based remote measurements. Field Crops Research, 2017, 207: 24-29 CrossRef
  10. Hayatnezhad M., Gholamin R., Jamaati S., Zabihi-E-Mahmoodabad R. The leaf chlorophyll content and stress resistance relationship considering in corn cultivars (Zea mays). Advances in Environmental Biology, 2011, 5: 118-122.
  11. Lichtenthaler H.K. Chlorophylls and carotenoids: pigments of photosynthetic biomembranes. Methods in Enzymology, 1987, 148: 350-382 CrossRef
  12. Luo Q., Xie H., Chen Z., Ma Y., Yang H., Yang B., Ma Y. Morphology, photosynthetic physiology and biochemistry of nine herbaceous plants under water stress. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2023, 14: 1147208 CrossRef
  13. Li Y., Cui Y., Hu, X., Liao X., Zhang, Y. Chlorophyll supplementation in early life prevents diet-induced obesity and modulates gut microbiota in mice. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 2019, 63(21): e1801219 CrossRef
  14. Carvalho A.M.S., Heimfarth L., Pereira E.W.M., Oliveira F.S., Menezes I.R.A., Coutinho H.D.M., Picot L., Antoniolli A.R., Quintans J.S.S., Quintans-Júnior L.J. Phytol, a chlorophyll component, produces antihyperalgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antiarthritic effects: possible NFκB pathway involvement and reduced levels of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-a and IL-6. Journal of Natural Products, 2020, 83(4): 1107-1117 CrossRef
  15. Lv R., Elsabagh M., Obitsu T., Sugino T., Kurokawa Y. Effect of phytol in forage on phytanic acid content in cow's milk. Animal Bioscience, 2021, 34(10): 1616-1622 CrossRef
  16. Moiseeva E.A., Kravchenko I.V., Shepeleva L.F., Bordey R.Kh. Accumulation of photosynthetic pigments and secondary metabolites in leaves of galega (Galega orientalis Lam.) cv. Gale depending on stand age and agrotechnologies during introduction in the Middle taiga of Western Siberia. Sel'skokhozyaistvennaya biologiya [Agricultural Biology], 2022, 57(1): 44-65 CrossRef
  17. Bobe G., Zhang Z., Kopp R., Garzotto M., Shannon J., Takata Y. Phytol and its metabolites phytanic and pristanic acids for risk of cancer: current evidence and future directions. European Journal of Cancer Prevention, 2020, 29(2): 191-200 CrossRef
  18. Ding L.L., Matsumura M., Obitsu T., Sugino T. Phytol supplementation alters plasma concentrations of formate, amino acids, and lipid metabolites in sheep. Animal, 2021, 15(3): 100174 CrossRef
  19. Lough A.K. The phytanic acid content of the lipids of bovine tissues and milk. Lipids, 1977, 12(1): 115-119 CrossRef
  20. Efremov G.I., Slugina M.A., Shchennikova A.V., Kochieva E.Z. Differential regulation of phytoene synthase PSY1 during fruit carotenogenesis in cultivated and wild tomato species (Solanum section Lycopersicon). Plants, 2020, 9(9): 1169 CrossRef
  21. Gul H., Anjum L., Arif M., Shah M. Effects of exogeneous application of putrescine on different biochemical parameters of Zea mays L. under salinity stress. FUUAST Journal of Biology, 2018, 8(1): 65-72.
  22. Yan Y., Hou P., Duan F., Niu L., Dai T., Wang K., Zhao M., Li S., Zhou W. Improving photosynthesis to increase grain yield potential: an analysis of maize hybrids released in different years in China. Photosynthesis Research, 2021,150(1-3): 295-311 CrossRef
  23. Daughtry C.S.T., Walthall C.L., Kim M.S., Brown de Colstoun E., McMurtrey E. Estimating corn leaf chlorophyll concentration from leaf and canopy reflectance. Remote Sensing of Environment, 2000, 74(2): 229-239 CrossRef
  24. Li G., Aubrey D., Sun H. Predictive capability of a leaf optical meter for determining leaf pigment status during senescence. Photosynthetica, 2017, 55(3): 543-552 CrossRef
  25. Yang H., Ming B., Nie C., Xue B., Xin J., Lu X., Xue J., Hou, P., Xie R., Wang K., Li S. Maize canopy and leaf chlorophyll content assessment from leaf spectral reflectance: estimation and uncertainty analysis across growth stages and vertical distribution. Remote Sensing, 2022, 14(9): 2115 CrossRef
  26. Lichtenthaler H.K., Babani F. Contents of photosynthetic pigments and ratios of chlorophyll a/b and chlorophylls to carotenoids (a+b)/(x+c) in C4 plants as compared to C3 plants. Photosynthetica, 2022, 60(special issue 2022): 3-9 CrossRef
  27. Gitelson A.A., Gritz Y., Merzlyak M.N. Relationships between leaf chlorophyll content and spectral reflectance and algorithms for non-destructive chlorophyll assessment in higher plant leaves. Journal of Plant Physiology, 2003, 160(3): 271-82 CrossRef
  28. Salitxay T., Phouthaxay P., Pang Y.G., Yeong Y.C., Adhikari P.B., Park C.H. Effects of elicitors on seedling growth, total polyphenol and chlorophyll content and antioxidant activity of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Korean Journal of Crop Science, 2016, 61(1): 33-40 CrossRef
  29. Kaviya M., Balamuralikrishnan B., Sangeetha T., Senthilkumar N., Malaisamy A., Sivasamy M., Poorni L., Pushparaj K., Arun M., Anand A.V. Evaluation of phytoconstituents of Triticum aestivum grass extracts on nutritional attributes, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities against food pathogens with molecular in silico investigation. Food Frontiers, 2023, 4(2): 831-848 CrossRef
  30. Veronica N., Venkata Ramana Rao P. Impact of low light stress on physiological characters, yield and yield attributes of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Agricultural Science Digest, 2023, 44(6): 5788 CrossRef
  31. Ibrahim I.M., McKenzie S.D., Chung J., Aryal U.K., Leon-Salas W.D., Puthiyaveetil S. Photosystem stoichiometry adjustment is a photoreceptor-mediated process in Arabidopsis. Scientific Reports, 2022, 12(1): 10982 CrossRef
  32. Steiner S., Dietze L., Schröter Y., Fey V., Wagner R., Pfannschmidt T. The role of phosphorylation in redox regulation of photosynthesis genes psaA and psbA during photosynthetic acclimation of mustard. Molecular Plant, 2009, 2(3): 416-429 CrossRef

 

back

 


CONTENTS

 

Full article PDF (Eng)