Influence of water stress on proline accumulation, lipid peroxidation and water content of wheat

The effect of water stress on Triticum aestivum L. was investigated before and during a period of stress at the seedling stage. For this purpose Turkish bread wheat cultivar Gönen 98 was used in this research. Changing of proline and lipid peroxidation content (malonyl dialdehyde, MDA) at five different harvesting times (7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days after sowing) during early vegetative stage was determined in relation to dry matter production and relative water content of leaves. After onset of stress treatment (14 days after sowing) decline of dry matter production by water stress was observed. The decreasing of relative water content and increasing of proline concentration of stressed plants harvested 28 days after sowing was markedly more than at other harvesting times. Water stress caused an increase of MDA content in leaves of plants. It reached highest level 28 days after sowing. The data showed that proline accumulation increased after lipid peroxidation content became higher and relative water content of leaves became lower. Therefore proline appeared to be mainly involved in protection against oxidative stress than osmotic adjustment during initial steps of water stress. © 2008 Asian Network for Scientific Information.