Low temperature limits the photochemical efficiency of photosystems in wheat plants. To test the effect of salt priming on the photosynthetic electron transport in wheat under low temperature, the germinating seeds of a winter wheat cv. Jimai44 were primed with varying concentrations of NaCl solutions (0, 10, 30, and 50 mM NaCl, indicated by S0, S10, S30, and S50, respectively) for 6 d, and after 11 d of recovery, the seedlings were subsequently exposed to 24-h low-temperature stress (2 °C). Under low temperature, the S30 plants possessed the highest absorption flux per reaction center and higher density of reaction center per cross-section among the treatments. In addition, S30 plants had higher trapped energy flux for reducing QA and fraction of QA-reducing reaction centers and non-QB reducing center than the non-primed plants under low temperature, indicating that S30 plants could maintain the energy balance of photosystems and a relatively higher maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II under low temperature. In addition, the low temperature-induced MDA accumulation and cell death were alleviated by salt priming in S30 plants. It was suggested that salt priming with an optimal concentration of NaCl solution (30 mM) during seed germination enhanced the photochemical efficiency of photosystems in wheat seedlings, which could be a potential approach to improve cold tolerance in wheat at an early stage.
Keywords: Chlorophyll a fluorescence; PS II reaction centers; cold stress; reactive oxygen species.