Saying NO to Ozone Pollution in Wheat: How Nitric Oxide Protects the Photosynthetic System

Saying NO to Ozone Pollution in Wheat: How Nitric Oxide Protects the Photosynthetic System

By Sofia Elizondo

When half of the world population relies on a certain crop, it is an understatement to say that the crop is important. The crop of topic is wheat, and it is a vital principal food to many across the globe. With urbanization and industrialization on the rise, ozone (O₃) concentrations are skyrocketing. Ozone pollution is now an enemy of wheat yield, negatively affecting plant metabolism. However, nitric oxide (NO) may be a key mediator for the deleterious effects of O₃ on wheat yield. According to a recent study on NO’s combating effects against ozone pollution on wheat, there is alleviation of ozone fumigation by raising the photosynthetic abilities of wheat using a precursor of NO, known as sodium nitroprusside (Gu et al., 2018). In order to observe whether NO is used for tolerance of wheat to O₃ pollution, the levels of NO within the wheat plant were monitored using a NO-specific fluorescent probe. In other words, higher fluorescence indicates higher NO activity. Figure (a) shows NO levels under no O₃ treatment to wheat, while figure (b) shows NO levels after O₃ fumigation.

The higher NO fluorescence in O₃ presence indicates that NO is actively working against the polluting effects by enhancing the photosynthetic rate of wheat. This accumulation of NO in wheat leaves ultimately leads to the alleviation of yield reduction. The findings presented in this study about NO’s ability to react to biotic stress are invaluable when trying to obtain worldwide food security.

Reference

Gu X., Guo L., Li C., Muminov M.A., Song Y., and Wang T. 2018. Nitric oxide alleviates wheat yield reduction by protecting photosynthetic system from oxidation of ozone pollution. Environ. Pollut. 236:296-303.