Abstract

Hydrogen cyanamide (HC) is widely used to induce the breakage of endodormancy (ED) in grape and other deciduous fruit crop, though its mechanism of action is poorly understood. Applications of HC to grapevine buds produce oxidative stress and transient respiratory disturbances which are related to the breakage of ED. Moreover, since the expression and activity of catalase (Cat) is inhibited by HC, enhancements in the levels of H2O2 have also been associated to the breakage of ED in grapevine buds. Here, we reported that increases in H2O2 level in HC-treated grapevine buds are due to the inhibition of Cat activity and enhancement of the respiratory activity of buds. In addition, exogenous applications of H 2O2 partially reproduced the inducing effect of HC in the breakage of ED, thus providing further support for the hypothesis that H 2O2 mediates the effects of HC. On the other hand, Mit isolated from both control and HC-treated buds respired equally well when NADH was used as a respiratory substrate, but when succinate was used as an electron donor Mit respiration was non-detected, suggesting that the stimulatory effect of HC on bud respiration is related to metabolic alterations leading to increase of the concentration of NADH rather than to changes in Mit functionality. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.