As. Pac. J. Mol. Biol. & Biotech., Apr 2014 Vol. 2, 185-190
A simple in vitro method to study alkaline tolerance in alkaligrass (Puccinellia airoides) at high pH
Xue Zhang1, Koji Nomura*1, Katsuyoshi Shimizu2 and Ke-Zhang Xu3
1Graduate School of Life and Environmental Science, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan,
2Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan,
3Faculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, Jilin Province, China.
* Author for correspondence: Koji Nomura
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Science, University of Tsukuba Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan.
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Abstract.
Species belonging to genus Puccinellia are commonly called 'alkaligrass' because of their tolerance to saline-alkali environment. Although phyto-remediation of saline-alkali lands by planting alkaligrass is already achieved, its mechanisms of alkali tolerance need to be further comprehensively and thoroughly investigated. In a previous work, we revealed that alkaligrass had high tolerance to a high pH condition already during its germination and initial growth by growing seedlings in vitro. For further studies of alkali tolerance, an in vitro-culture system under a sterile condition is required. In a previous work, we cultured young alkaligrass seedlings on an agar medium to reveal their responses to a high pH stress. In the present work, we elaborated the in vitro method further and developed a convenient, efficient and reliable culture system. We compared the roots of the seedlings that were grown in the in vitro-culture system with those of field-grown mature grasses (pH 8.5). In spite of the differences in the growing environment and age, the morphological features of the roots under pH 8.5 were identical between the in vitro-grown and field-grown grasses. Here, we propose a simple in vitro-culture method of alkaligrass seedlings under a controlled condition. The alkaligrass seedlings in our in vitro-culture system are compatible to field-grown alkaligrass. Thus, our in vitro system is proved to be useful for further investigations, such as proteomics approach, of this plant.
