The expression of peroxiredoxins in teosinte Zea diploperennis was analyzed as the first step to establish its relationship with its mechanism of antioxidant response to conditions of abiotic stress and infection with the most common plant pathogen to which it is susceptible (Ustilago maydis). The enzymatic activity was evaluated by a spectrophotometric method in which the residual amount of H2O2 is measured by its ability to produce a purple complex which absorbs at 480 nm. In saline stress, Zea diploperennis showed a high reduction of H2O2 with NaCl above CdCl2 and healthy. Heat-stressed coleoptiles had higher activity than healthy coleoptile and those that were stressed at 4°C while in infected coleoptile activity was slightly higher than healthy coleoptile. The results obtained are novel since no results of this type have been reported in any variety of teosinte. The levels of H2O2 reduction that the samples exhibit are directly proportional to the concentration of peroxiredoxins shown under the different conditions. These values reflect the behavior of the seedlings towards the adverse conditions to which they were subjected, as well as describe some of their antioxidant mechanisms. As teosinte is the direct ancestor of maize, these values could be of primary utility in evaluating and defining new teosinte resistance mechanisms that could be used in maize.
