Glutathione Functions on Physiological Characters of Corn Plants to Enhance Mn-induced Corn Production

A non-protein thiol,glutathione (GSH),presents abundantly in plant and affects the growth and development of the plants. In this study,the effects of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC),a precursor of GSH,on manganese (Mn)-induced corn production was evaluated. Different Mn concentrations (0.2,1.5 and 3.0 ppm of Mn),with or without 100 μM of NAC,were arranged as completely randomised design with 5 replicates. Results show that both NAC and Mn affected plant height and leaf numbers. Treatment of NAC increased Mn-induced relative water content (RWC),photosynthesis (Pn) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in leaves of corn plants. In the Mn-treated plants,chlorophyll (Chl) content,Chl fluorescence (Fm) and quantum yield (Fv/FM) were found significantly higher than the Mn-untreated plants. In addition,corn plants showed improved yield and cob length in NAC-treated plants in the presence of Mn. Thus,this study suggests that NAC might improve some physiological functions of plants to enhance Mn-induced corn production,with 1.5 ppm of Mn showed the best results.