Responses of nitrogen metabolism to copper stress in Luffa cylindrica roots

Abstract Pot experiments were performed to investigate the responses of nitrogen metabolism to copper stress in Luffa cylindrica roots. Four treatments were used, in which varying copper concentrations (25, 50, 75 and 100 μM) were added to MS medium. The fresh weights of the roots decreased gradually with the increasing copper concentrations. At the lower concentrations, the ammonium and nitrite levels increased compared with the control, but the nitrate concentrations significantly decreased with 75 and 100 μM copper. Compared with the control, nitrate reductase activity levels gradually increased with increasing copper concentrations of up to 50 μM, and nitrite reductase activity levels significantly decreased. Copper stress led to variable increases in the activities of glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase compared with the controls. The NADH- glutamate dehydrogenase (NADH-GDH) and NAD-glutamate dehydrogenase (NAD-GDH) activities were affected by the copper treatments, but that of NAD-GDH was significantly reduced by 100 μM copper. The activities of alanine aminotransferase (AlaAT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) showed varying changes following the copper treatments. The present results indicate that Luffa cylindrica shows altered activities of enzymes associated with nitrogen metabolism during copper stress, enabling it to monitor and adapt to changes in its N status and supply, thereby minimizing the harmful effects of the stress.