3.4 PsbA and PsbS photosynthetic gene expression
Expression analysis of PsbA and PsbS genes showed that treatment of wheat and cucumber plants by amaranth leachate caused a change in the expression of these genes, which also differed between studied species (Figure 1C). Leachate treatment significantly decreased PsbA gene expression in cucumber, but this gene expression was significantly stimulated in wheat plants (p ≥ 0.01). PsbS gene expression in both cucumber and wheat plants reduced by application of amaranth leachate, but it was only statistically significant in the cucumber plant (p ≥ 0.01). This difference was also seen in the gel images of RT-PCR products of the studied genes (Figure 1B).