Antioxidative Enzymes and Sucrose Synthase Contribute to Cold Stress Tolerance in Chickpea

Chickpea is sensitive to low temperature (<10°C) during its reproductive stage. Low temperature adversely affects the development of pods and seeds. This study was undertaken to investigate the role of sucrose metabolizing enzymes in seed development and potential of antioxidative enzymes in protecting seeds and podwalls from the deleterious effects of cold stress in advanced cold tolerant chickpea breeding lines. Healthy pod set was observed in these tolerant lines in the end of December where as low temperature susceptible PBG-1 did not flower. Two lines ICCV 96029 and ICCV 96030 showed susceptible characters such as reduced flowering, blackened and shrivelled seeds and yellowish pods in comparison to other cold stress tolerant lines due to sudden dip of temperature (<1 °C) during the first week of January. These two lines were, therefore, treated as susceptible checks in comparison to other tolerant lines. A significantly higher activity and specific activity of sucrose synthase was observed in seeds of most of the cold tolerant lines in comparison with ICCV 96029 and ICCV 96030, thereby providing sugars as well as sugar nucleotides for their growth and starch synthesis during unfavourable low temperature. The developing seeds and podwalls of tolerant genotypes had higher activities of antioxidant enzymes, i.e. catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutahione reductase in comparison with ICCV 96029 and ICCV 96030. It appears that the higher activities of antioxidant enzymes in podwall protect the developing seeds from cold stress.