Evidence for oxidative stress involved in physiological leaf spot formation in winter and spring barley.

TLDR: It is assumed that a possible genetic mechanism based on the imbalanced AOS metabolism contributes to formation of physiological leaf spots in spring and winter barley in Germany.

Abstract: A leaf spot disease with unknown etiology has become more pronounced in spring and winter barley in Germany in recent years. The symptoms are similar to net blotch and Ramularia leaf spots, but the causal agents of these diseases are not identified. The symptom expression varied much on cultivars. Cultivars most affected by the disease of both spring and winter barley showed a significantly higher level of superoxide (O2¯) production and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde), but a lower level of antioxidant potential expressed as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, catalase activity, and integral water-soluble antioxidant capacity (ACW) than insensitive cultivars. A high positive correlation between O2¯ production and leaf spot development between ear emergence and milk ripeness was established in the most sensitive winter barley cv. Anoa (r2 = 0.9622) and spring barley cv. Barke (r2 = 0.9434). Leaf H2O2 levels increased with the severity of leaf spots. The histochemical localization of O2¯ and ...