Drought stress reduces stem elongation and alters gibberellin-related gene expression during vegetative growth of tomato

Abstract

Drought stress reduces stem elongation and cell expansion. Since gibberellins (GAs) play an important role in controlling cell elongation, the objective of this study was to determine if the reduction in growth under drought stress is associated with altered GA metabolism or signaling. We exposed ‘Moneymaker’ tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) to drought stress to observe the effects on growth. Irrigation was automated using a data logger, which maintained volumetric water contents (VWC) of 0.35 and 0.15 m3_mL3 for well-watered and drought-stressed conditions, respectively. To further investigate the effect of GAs on elongation, paclobutrazol (PAC), a GA biosynthesis inhibitor, was applied to reduce endogenous GA production. Drought stress and PAC treatment reduced plant height. Internode length, cell size, and shoot dry weight displayed an interaction between the VWC and PAC treatments. The transcript levels of SlGA20ox1,-2,-3, and-4, SlGA3ox2, and SlGA2ox2,-4, and-5, corresponding to enzymes in GA metabolism, and LeEXP1, and-2, encoding expansin enzymes related to cell wall loosening necessary for cell expansion, were analyzed. Downregulation of transcript accumulation due to drought stress was observed for SlGA20ox4, SlGA2ox5, and LeEXP1, but not for any of the other genes. PAC increased expression of SlGA20ox-3, and SlGA3ox2, potentially through feedback regulation. These findings suggest that drought stress effects on elongation are at least partly mediated by altered GA metabolism.