γ-Aminobutyrate (GABA) shunt under salt stress in Saccharum officinarum

The GAD extracted from salt stress sensitive sugarcane variety CoC 671 showed increased activity with increased concentrations of NaCl treatment.  The natural GAD activity was found 141% more in salt tolerant variety Co 86032, compared to sensitive variety.  The GOT activities displayed specific induction at higher salt concentrations in CoC 671 variety.   The GOT activity was 840% more in tolerant variety than in sensitive variety and the same activity was observed at initial concentrations of salt treatment.  The activity staining of GOT and GPT did not show any difference in the banding pattern but, expression of a single isoenzyme was detected in control and 0.5% NaCl treated CoC 671 extracts and in 0.75% NaCl treated Co 86032 extracts. The SSADH activity in both varieties decreased as the salt treatment increased, unlike GAD and GOT.  The SSADH activity was found less in salt tolerant variety than that of sensitive variety.  The activity staining of SSADH extracts from both varieties treated with different concentrations of NaCl did not reveal any difference.