Vitamin E is Superior to Vitamin C in Delaying Seedling Senescence and Improving Resistance in Arabidopsis Deficient in Macro-Elements

• Main Authors: Zhong-Wei Zhang, Xin-Yue Yang, Xiao-Jian Zheng, Yu-Fan Fu, Ting Lan, Xiao-Yan Tang, Chang-Quan Wang, Guang-Deng Chen, Jian Zeng, Shu Yuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: macro-element deficiency; senescence; vitamin C; vitamin E; oxidative stress
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/19/7429
• ISSN: 1661-6596; 1422-0067

Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) are three essential macro-elements for plant growth and development. Used to improve yield in agricultural production, the excessive use of chemical fertilizers often leads to increased production costs and ecological environmental pollution. Vitamins C and E are antioxidants that play an important role in alleviating abiotic stress. However, there are few studies on alleviating oxidative stress caused by macro-element deficiency. Here, we used Arabidopsis vitamin E synthesis-deficient mutant <i>vte4</i> and vitamin C synthesis-deficient mutant<i> vtc1</i> on which exogenous vitamin E and vitamin C, respectively, were applied at the bolting stage. In the deficiency of macro-elements, the Arabidopsis chlorophyll content decreased, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative electric conductivity increased, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulated. The mutants <i>vtc1</i> and <i>vte4</i> are more severely stressed than the wild-type plants. Adding exogenous vitamin E was found to better alleviate stress than adding vitamin C. Vitamin C barely affected and vitamin E significantly inhibited the synthesis of ethylene (ETH) and jasmonic acid (JA) genes, thereby reducing the accumulation of ETH and JA that alleviated the senescence caused by macro-element deficiency at the later stage of bolting in Arabidopsis. A deficiency of macro-elements also reduced the yield and germination rate of the seeds, which were more apparent in <i>vtc1</i> and <i>vte4, </i>and adding exogenous vitamin C and vitamin E, respectively, could restore them. This study reported, for the first time, that vitamin E is better than vitamin C in delaying seedling senescence caused by macro-element deficiency in Arabidopsis.