Wang Min, Wang Ruirui, Mur Luis Alejandro Jose, Ruan Jianyun, Shen Qirong, Guo Shiwei
Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, The Key Laboratory of Plant Immunity, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China.
Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DA, UK.
Hortic Res. 2021 Dec 1;8(1):254. doi: 10.1038/s41438-021-00681-1.
Silicon (Si), the second most abundant element in Earth's crust, exerts beneficial effects on the growth and productivity of a variety of plant species under various environmental conditions. However, the benefits of Si and its importance to plants are controversial due to differences among the species, genotypes, and the environmental conditions. Although Si has been widely reported to alleviate plant drought stress in both the Si-accumulating and nonaccumulating plants, the underlying mechanisms through which Si improves plant water status and maintains water balance remain unclear. The aim of this review is to summarize the morphoanatomical, physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes that are involved in plant water status that are regulated by Si in response to drought stress, especially the integrated modulation of Si-triggered drought stress responses in Si accumulators and intermediate- and excluder-type plants. The key mechanisms influencing the ability of Si to mitigate the effects of drought stress include enhancing water uptake and transport, regulating stomatal behavior and transpirational water loss, accumulating solutes and osmoregulatory substances, and inducing plant defense- associated with signaling events, consequently maintaining whole-plant water balance. This study evaluates the ability of Si to maintain water balance under drought stress conditions and suggests future research that is needed to implement the use of Si in agriculture. Considering the complex relationships between Si and different plant species, genotypes, and the environment, detailed studies are needed to understand the interactions between Si and plant responses under stress conditions.
硅（Si）是地壳中含量第二丰富的元素，在各种环境条件下，对多种植物的生长和生产力都有有益影响。然而，由于物种、基因型和环境条件的差异，硅对植物的益处及其重要性存在争议。尽管已有广泛报道称，硅在富硅植物和非富硅植物中均可缓解植物干旱胁迫，但硅改善植物水分状况并维持水分平衡的潜在机制仍不清楚。本综述的目的是总结硅在响应干旱胁迫时调节植物水分状况所涉及的形态解剖学、生理学、生物化学和分子过程，特别是硅触发的富硅植物以及中间型和排斥型植物干旱胁迫响应的综合调控。硅减轻干旱胁迫影响的关键机制包括增强水分吸收和运输、调节气孔行为和蒸腾失水、积累溶质和渗透调节物质，以及诱导与植物防御相关的信号事件，从而维持整株植物的水分平衡。本研究评估了硅在干旱胁迫条件下维持水分平衡的能力，并提出了未来在农业中应用硅所需的研究方向。考虑到硅与不同植物物种、基因型和环境之间的复杂关系，需要进行详细研究以了解胁迫条件下硅与植物响应之间的相互作用。
