Ecophysiological Studies on Salvadora persica

Abstract

The objective of this work was to study the ecophysiological response of Salvadora persica (S. persica) growing in Wadi El Gemal, to know the extent of the adaptation mechanism of the arak plant in its natural environment across the winter and summer seasons. Most physical and chemical characteristics of the soil supporting S. persica were significantly higher during 20-40 depth than during the 0-20 depth, but no significant differences were evident for pH and Mg2+ content between the two depths. Total chlorophyll, elements and chemical compositions studied of S. persica in the winter season were significantly higher than in the summer season, the opposite is true for total carotenoids, Mg2+, S, P, total carbohydrate and proline contents. SDS-PAGE method was used to evaluate protein patterns in S. persica, which displayed different molecular weights of protein pattern across the winter and summer seasons. S. persica plants during the winter season showed a higher number of bands compared with those of the summer season. The number of polymorphic and unique bands was ten and three for S. persica leaves in both seasons, respectively. The differences in chemical compositions of S. persica due to seasonal changes led to the protein patterns changing and the activation of plant physiological stress tolerance mechanisms, indicating the protective role of these compositions and protein patterns in S. persica.