Ca2+ and aminoguanidine on γ-aminobutyric acid accumulation in germinating soybean under hypoxia-NaCl stress

Runqiang Yang; Yuanxin Guo; Shufang Wang; Zhenxin Gu

doi:10.1016/j.jfda.2014.07.004

Ca²⁺ and aminoguanidine on γ-aminobutyric acid accumulation in germinating soybean under hypoxia-NaCl stress

J Food Drug Anal. 2015 Jun;23(2):287-293. doi: 10.1016/j.jfda.2014.07.004. Epub 2014 Nov 6.

Authors

Runqiang Yang¹, Yuanxin Guo², Shufang Wang¹, Zhenxin Gu³

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China.
² College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China; College of Food and Drug, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, Anhui, PR China.
³ College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China. Electronic address: guzx@njau.edu.cn.

Abstract

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a nonproteinous amino acid with some benefits on human health, is synthesized by GABA-shunt and the polyamine degradation pathway in plants. The regulation of Ca²⁺ and aminoguanidine on GABA accumulation in germinating soybean (Glycine max L.) under hypoxia-NaCl stress was investigated in this study. Exogenous Ca²⁺ increased GABA content significantly by enhancing glutamate decarboxylase gene expression and its activity. Addition of ethylene glycol tetra-acetic acid into the culture solution reduced GABA content greatly due to the inhibition of glutamate decarboxylase activity. Aminoguanidine reduced over 85% of diamine oxidase activity, and 33.28% and 36.35% of GABA content in cotyledon and embryo, respectively. Under hypoxia-NaCl stress, the polyamine degradation pathway contributed 31.61-39.43% of the GABA formation in germinating soybean.

Keywords: Ca(2+); aminoguanidine; germinating soybean; hypoxia–NaCl stress; γ-aminobutyric acid.

Grants and funding

The authors are grateful to the Natural Science Foundation of China (31401614) and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) for the financial support for the present research project.