Comparison of Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Two Poplar Species under Drought Stress

Drought stress is a crucial environmental factor for plant survival, and the development of drought-tolerant varieties isone of the goals of all cultivated plant researchers. In particular, the seedling stage is important for plant growth and development andis also the period most affected by drought. We investigated the initial response to drought stress in seedlings of two species of poplar(Populus alba × Populus davidiana and Populus davidiana) that phenotypically differed in drought tolerance. Comparative analysis interms of shoot height, photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, antioxidants, proline, soluble protein, malondialdehyde (MDA), andhydrogen peroxide (H2O2) contents was used to measure the physiological and biochemical characteristics of drought stress, anddrought-related genetic changes were also examined. Significant changes in shoot height, chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyllcontents, MDA and H2O2 appeared more adversely in Populus alba × Populus davidiana than in Populus davidiana, whereasreductions in soluble protein, carotenoids, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), which are indicators related to droughttolerance, appeared less in Populus davidiana. The change pattern of genes related to electron transfer and H2O2 production were almostsimilar in the two species, and among the drought response genes, lipid transfer protein 3 (LTP3) was greatly upregulated only inPopulus davidiana. In the initial response to drought stress of both poplars, Populus davidiana, which had good antioxidantmaintenance, showed better drought tolerance than Populus alba × Populus davidiana, which had a faster response to osmotic balancecontrol. KCI Citation Count: 0