THE REDOX ENVIRONMENT DIFFERENTIALLY REGULATES AUTOPHAGY IN LEAVES AND ROOTS OF ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA DURING CADMIUM STRESS

Abstract

frequent drought and flooding events and the various stresses associated with them, namely oxidative stress. Studying reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis within the context of water stress in plants is important, not only because antioxidant defense plays a central role in preventing the impacts of oxidative stress, but also, because complex and highly articulate signal transduction networks involving ROS are required for sensing and adapting to new environmental conjectures. The legume Lathyrus sativus L. (grass pea) is of high economic importance for food and feed in Asian and African developing countries. Interest has been raising also in the Mediterranean region, where this crop is part of cultural heritage of more marginal areas, due to its outstanding robustness under adverse environmental conditions, like salt, temperature, and water stress, compared with other legume species. The aim of this work is to unravel some of the molecular mechanisms underlying grass pea' water and oxidative stress response by comparing tolerant and susceptible grass pea accessions, previously identified by an extensive phenotyping of a worldwide collection of germplasm of this species, evaluated under three water treatments (well-watered, waterlogging and water deficit). Some preliminary metabolite quantification results are presented, namely of glutathione and ascorbate oxidized and reduced forms, as an attempt to unravel contrasting redox conjectures among susceptible and tolerant plants, subject to different water treatments. Future biochemical and transcriptomic studies will deepen the understanding of the potential role of ROS in response mechanisms to water deficit and water-logging in grass pea.