THE EFFECT OF SALT STRESS ON MALATE DEHYDROGENASE IN WHEAT

Effect of various NaCI treatments (0, 50, 100, 200 and 300 mM) at different growth and development stages (tillering, boot swollen, flowering and anthesis) of two wheat cultivars  on the kinetic activity and PAGE electrophoretic pattern of leaf malate dehydrogenase was studied under greenhouse conditions. Ghods was salt-sensitive and Boolani was salt-tolerant. In general, in response to salintiy treatments, the increase in malate dehydrogenase was only significant during tillering  and  boot swollen and there was no significant differences between these cultivars. In addition, the electrophoretic patterns of leaf malate dehydrogenase showed significant changes during tillering and booting and these differences were not significant between Ghods and Boolani. Thus, it seemed that salt stress could induce significant changes in  the kinetic activity and PAGE electrophoretic pattern of leaf malate dehydrogenase only during early growth stages in these cultivars.