Freezing stress in spring often causes the death and abnormal development of young ears of wheat, leading to a significant reduction in grain production. However, the mechanisms of young wheat ears responding to freezing are largely unclear. In this study, the role of the ascorbic acid-glutathione cycle (AsA-GSH cycle) in alleviating freezing-caused oxidative damage in young wheat ears at the anther connective tissue formation phase (ACFP) was investigated. The results showed that the release rate of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the relative electrolyte conductivity in young ears of Jimai22 (JM22, freezing-tolerant) were significantly lower than those in young ears of Xumai33 (XM33, freezing-sensitive) under freezing. The level of the GSH pool (231.8~392.3 μg/g FW) was strikingly higher than that of the AsA pool (98.86~123.4 μg/g FW) in young wheat ears at the ACFP. Freezing significantly increased the level of the AsA pool and the activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) in the young ears of both varieties. The level of the GSH pool increased in the young ears of XM33 under freezing but decreased in the young ears of JM22. The young ears of JM22 showed higher activities of glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) than the young ears of XM33 under freezing. Collectively, these results suggest that the AsA-GSH cycle plays a positive role in alleviating freezing-induced oxidative damage in young wheat ears. Furthermore, the ability of utilizing GSH as a substrate to scavenge ROS is an important factor affecting the freezing tolerance of young wheat ears. In addition, abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), 3-indolebutyric acid (IBA) and cis-zeatin (cZ) may be involved in regulating the AsA-GSH cycle metabolism in young wheat ears under freezing.
Keywords: AsA–GSH cycle; hormone; spring freezing; wheat; young ears.