The mechanism of selenium-mediated salt tolerance has not been fully clarified. This study investigated the possible role of selenium (Se) in regulating maize salt tolerance. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the role of Se (0, 1, 5 and 25 μM Na2SeO3) in photosynthesis, antioxidative capacity and ion homeostasis in maize under salinity. The results showed that Se (1 μM) relieved the salt-induced inhibitory effects on the plant growth and development of 15-day-old maize plants. Se application (1 μM) also increased the net photosynthetic rate and alleviated the damage to chloroplast ultrastructure induced by NaCl. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities were increased, and ZmMPK5, ZmMPK7 and ZmCPK11 were markedly up-regulated in the roots of Se-treated plants, likely contributing to the improvement of antioxidant defence systems under salinity. Moreover, 1 μM Se increased K+ in the shoots while decreasing Na+ in the roots, indicating that Se up-regulates ZmNHX1 in the roots, which may be involved in Na+ compartmentalisation under salinity. The findings from this single experiment require repetition together with measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS), but nevertheless suggest that exogenous Se alleviates salt stress in maize via the improvement of photosynthetic capacity, the activities of antioxidant enzymes and the regulation of Na+ homeostasis.

/pdf/effect-of-exogenous-selenium-supply-on-photosynthesis-na-49ul9f0v0q.pdf

Effect of exogenous selenium supply on photosynthesis, Na + accumulation and antioxidative capacity of maize ( Zea mays L.) under salinity stress

The negative effects of environmental stresses, such as low temperature, high temperature, salinity, drought, heavy metal stress, and biotic stress significantly decrease crop productivity. Plant hormones are currently being used to induce stress tolerance in a variety of plants. Brassinosteroids (commonly known as BR) are a group of phytohormones that regulate a wide range of biological processes that lead to tolerance of various stresses in plants. BR stimulate BRASSINAZOLE RESISTANCE 1 (BZR1)/BRI1-EMS SUPPRESSOR 1 (BES1), transcription factors that activate thousands of BR-targeted genes. BR regulate antioxidant enzyme activities, chlorophyll contents, photosynthetic capacity, and carbohydrate metabolism to increase plant growth under stress. Mutants with BR defects have shortened root and shoot developments. Exogenous BR application increases the biosynthesis of endogenous hormones such as indole-3-acetic acid, abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, zeatin riboside, brassinosteroids (BR), and isopentenyl adenosine, and gibberellin (GA) and regulates signal transduction pathways to stimulate stress tolerance. This review will describe advancements in knowledge of BR and their roles in response to different stress conditions in plants.

https://www.scielo.cl/pdf/bres/v51/0717-6287-bres-51-46.pdf

The physiological and molecular mechanism of brassinosteroid in response to stress: a review

A Complex Relationship

Both the plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and plant growth regulators (PGR) exert beneficial effects on plant growth even under stress, but combined effect of both of them has not been e...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17429145.2018.1471527

Effects of exogenously applied plant growth regulators in combination with PGPR on the physiology and root growth of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and their role in drought tolerance

The effect of polyamines (PAs) on nitric oxide (NO) generation was investigated in cucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. Dar) primary leaves using bio-imaging with an NO-selective fluorophor, DAF-2DA. Seedlings pretreated with PAs and subjected to water deficit showed early (after 5 h) and transient NO production. The amplitude of the response depended on the form of the applied polyamine. Spermine (1.0 mM) and spermidine (1.0 mM) induced higher NO-dependent fluorescence compared with putrescine (1.0 mM) and the control. The NO production was blocked by tungstate, an inhibitor of nitrate reductase, and partially by an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS-like) enzymes. NO donor administration preceding drought had no effect on endogenous PA levels but was positively correlated with an alleviation of water deficit-induced membrane permeability and lipid peroxidation. Application of 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (cPTIO), a membrane-permeable NO scavenger, markedly reversed the NO donor effects. Similarly, pretreating seedlings with PAs resulted in lower ion leakage from the membrane and modified lipid peroxidation. The results indicate that NO may act downstream of PAs in cucumber seedlings under water stress.

Interaction between polyamine and nitric oxide signaling in adaptive responses to drought in cucumber

The role of 24-epibrassinolide in the regulation of photosynthetic characteristics and nitrogen metabolism of tomato seedlings under a combined low temperature and weak light stress

Polyamines can alleviate the inhibitory effects of salinity on plant growth by regulating photosynthetic efficiency. However, little information is available to explain the specific mechanisms underlying the contribution of polyamines to salt tolerance of the photosynthetic apparatus. Here, we investigated the role of putrescine (Put) on the photosynthetic apparatus of cucumber seedlings under salt stress. We found that NaCl stress resulted in severe ion toxicity and oxidative stress in cucumber chloroplasts. In addition, salinity caused a significant increase in the saturated fatty acid contents of thylakoid membranes. Put altered unsaturated fatty acid content, thereby alleviating the disintegration of thylakoid grana lamellae and reducing the number of plastoglobuli in thylakoid membranes. BN-PAGE revealed Put up-regulated the expression of ATP synthase, CP47, D1, Qb, and psbA proteins and down-regulated CP24, D2, and LHCII type III in NaCl-stressed thylakoid membranes. qRT-PCR analysis of gene expression was used to compare transcript and protein accumulation among 10 candidate proteins. For five of these proteins, induced transcript accumulation was consistent with the pattern of induced protein accumulation. Our results suggest that Put regulates protein expression at transcriptional and translational levels by increasing endogenous polyamines levels in thylakoid membranes, which may stabilise photosynthetic apparatus under salt stress.

/pdf/the-role-of-putrescine-in-the-regulation-of-proteins-and-40vx9ueu7u.pdf

The role of putrescine in the regulation of proteins and fatty acids of thylakoid membranes under salt stress.

The effects of exogenous putrescine (8 mmol L−1) on the carbohydrate content, glycolytic metabolism, citric acid cycle intermediates, key enzyme activities and their corresponding gene expression in cucumber (cucumis sativus L. cv. Jingyou NO.4) subjected to salt stress (75 mmol L−1 NaCl) in solution culture was studied. Phosphofructokinase (PFK), pyruvate kinase (PK) and phosphoenolpyruvate pyruvate kinase (PEPC) activities were significantly decreased in leaves when exposed to salt stress. NaCl stress caused the PFK and PK gene expression and the content of pyruvate to significantly decrease, while PEPC gene expression increased. Salt stress also significantly reduced isocitrate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase and succinate dehydrogenase and their levels of transcription, causing decreases in the citric acid, succinic acid and malic acid content in leaves. Exogenous putrescine reversed the salt stress and increased gene expression and, in turn, the key enzymes involved in the glycolysis pathway and Krebs cycle, which significantly increased the amounts of organic acids and pyruvate produced, promoting the release of more energy currency (ATP and ADP). These results suggest that Put effectively participate glycolysis pathway and Krebs cycle, reducing the excessive accumulation of carbohydrates in the leaves, and providing more material and energy for the defense salt-induced injury, thus enhances cucumber seedling to salt stress tolerance.

Yuanyuan Tang

Papers

The role of 24-epibrassinolide in the regulation of photosynthetic characteristics and nitrogen metabolism of tomato seedlings under a combined low temperature and weak light stress

The role of putrescine in the regulation of proteins and fatty acids of thylakoid membranes under salt stress.

Effects of exogenous putrescine on glycolysis and Krebs cycle metabolism in cucumber leaves subjected to salt stress

Regulatory mechanism of NaCl stress on photosynthesis and antioxidant capacity mediated by transglutaminase in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings

Physiological mechanism of transglutaminase-mediated improvement in salt tolerance of cucumber seedlings.