Alleviation of water deficit in Physalis angulata plants by nitric oxide exogenous donor

Exogenous application of nitric oxide (NO) may play an important role in drought-tolerant plants in large crops or underexploited species. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mu M), an exogenous NO donor, was used in this study to evaluate the potential of NO in water deficit mitigation in Physalis angulata plants. This species is a genetic resource underexploited in Brazil, but that has uses in traditional medicine and potential for growing of small fruits. Gaseous exchanges, chlorophyll content, water relations, sugar accumulation and growth parameters were evaluated in this work. Despite water deficit influence on all variables, exogenous application of nitric oxide promoted attenuation of symptoms on photosynthetic performance, notably carbon assimilation, water use efficiency and chlorophyll content. Relative water content seems not to be influenced by exogenous supply of NO. While, direct relationship between sugars accumulation and leaf water potential promoted by exogenous NO was observed. Similarly, NO reversed and/or attenuated symptoms of water deficit on plant growth, especially plant height, dry matter accumulation and leaf area. Low concentrations of SNP have shown to mitigate negative effects of water deficit in Physalis angulata plants, improving photosynthetic rates, maintenance of leaf water potential and growth.