American-Eurasian J. Agric. & Environ. Sci., 6 (1): 92-99, 2009 ISSN 1818-6769 © IDOSI Publications, 2009 Corresponding Author: Fatemeh Daneshmand, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman, Islamic Republic of Iran 92 Effect of Acetylsalicylic Acid (Aspirin) on Salt and Osmotic Stress Tolerance in Solanum bulbocastanum in Vitro: Enzymatic Antioxidants Fatemeh Daneshmand, Mohammad Javad Arvin and Khosrow Manouchehri Kalantari 1,2 3 2 Department of Biology, Payame Noor University, Taft, Islamic Republic of Iran 1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman, Islamic Republic of Iran 2 Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University, 3 Kerman, Islamic Republic of Iran Abstract: In this study, we investigated the role of acetylsalicylic acid pretreatment (0, 1 and 10 µM) in inducing salt and osmotic tolerance in a wild species of potato (Solanum bulbocastanum). To determine whether the major influence of salinity is caused by the osmotic component or by salinity induced specific ion toxicity, we compared the effects of iso-osmstic concentrations of polyethylene glycol 6000 (15%) and NaCl (80 mM NaCl) on the physiological responses of this species explants grown in the liquid Morashige and Skoog medium. Both salt and drought reduced shoot growth parameters, photosynthetic pigments and increased lipid peroxidation, electrolyte leakage, H O level and lipoxygenase activity and the effect of NaCl was more severe than 2 2 polyethylene glycol. Salinity increased Na content and decreased K and K /Na ratio. Under salt and osmotic + + + + stress, the activity of superoxide dismutase, guaiacol peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase and glutathione reductase enzymes was increased. Acetylsalicylic acid pretreatment (especially 1µM) alleviated the adverse effects of both stresses on all parameters measured. It is concluded that pretreatment of acetylsalicylic acid appeared to induce pre-adaptive responses to salt and water stresses leading to promote protective reactions. Key words: Acetylsalicylic acid Enzymatic Antioxidant Systems In vitro Oxidative Stress Osmotic Stress Salt Stress Wild Species of Potato INTRODUCTION due to excess ions [2]. Abiotic stress conditions such as Salinity continues to be one of the world’s most oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide radicals, serious environmental problems as elevated levels of NaCl hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxide and cause are naturally present in many agricultural fields [1]. oxidative stress [1, 4]. ROS interact with a wide range of Global scarcity of water resources and the increase molecules causing pigment co-oxidation, lipid salinization of soil and water are having a high impact on peroxidation, membrane destruction, protein denaturation agricultural productivity [2]. Salinity reduces plant and DNA mutation [3]. Lipoxygenases (LOX) are also growth, alters ionic relation by ionic and osmotic responsible for membrane degradation because they effects and induces oxidative stress [1-3]. Crop catalyze the dioxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids performance may be adversely affected by salinity as a that are toxic to the cell. LOX-generated free radicals, result of nutritional disorders. These disorders may derive singlet oxygen and superoxide anion, are known to from the effect on nutrient availability, competitive disrupt membrane selective permeability via peroxidation uptake, transport or partitioning within the plant [2]. of membrane phospholipids, which resulted in membrane Although plants in nature have evolved several adaptive leakage [5]. Malondialdehyde (MDA), a decomposition mechanisms to cope with the presence of salts in their product of polyunsaturated fatty acids, has been utilized environment, the understanding of these mechanisms still as a biomarker of ROS [6, 7]. Antioxidant defense systems remains incomplete. The osmotic effect involves limited in plants include both enzymatic antioxidants such as water absorption due to salinity in the rhizosphere and the superoxid dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate ionic effect consists of intracellular toxicity or imbalance peroxidase (APX), peroxidase (POD) and glutathione salinity and drought favor the accumulation of reactive