College of Tourism & Landscape Architecture, Guilin University of Technology/College of Plant and Ecological Engineering, Guilin, China.
College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China.
PeerJ. 2023 Apr 17;11:e15159. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15159. eCollection 2023.
Drought stress is a major prevalent environmental factor impairing growth. Melatonin mitigates the impacts of drought stress on plants. However, melatonin's role in () is unknown. We aimed to reveal the protective effects of melatonin on seedlings under drought conditions.
Melatonin was sprayed under drought or normal water conditions. The parameters, including growth, physiological factors, and phytohormones of , were examined.
Compared to the normal control group, drought stress inhibited the growth of seedlings and significantly reduced the content of carotenoids, SOD, POD, APX, PPO, CAT, GR, and soluble sugars, and increased the contents of MDA, O , proline, soluble proteins, ABA, and JA-Me in seedlings. However, melatonin treatment significantly reversed the adverse drought-induced responses and promoted the seedling's growth. Moreover, the heatmap and principal component analysis suggested a high similarity in the behavior patterns of the six measured antioxidant enzymes in seedlings.
Our study reported for the first time that melatonin has a protective role in seedlings under drought-stress conditions. This role is related to ROS scavenging, activation of antioxidant enzymes, and crosstalk of phytohormones. This study provided a theoretical basis for improving the ability of adapted to arid environments.
干旱胁迫是影响植物生长的主要环境因素之一。褪黑素可以减轻干旱胁迫对植物的影响。然而，褪黑素在（）中的作用尚不清楚。我们旨在揭示褪黑素对干旱条件下（）幼苗的保护作用。
在干旱或正常浇水条件下喷洒褪黑素。检测了（）的生长、生理因子和植物激素等参数。
与正常对照组相比，干旱胁迫抑制了幼苗的生长，显著降低了类胡萝卜素、SOD、POD、APX、PPO、CAT、GR 和可溶性糖的含量，增加了 MDA、O、脯氨酸、可溶性蛋白质、ABA 和 JA-Me 的含量。然而，褪黑素处理显著逆转了干旱引起的不良响应，促进了（）幼苗的生长。此外，热图和主成分分析表明，干旱胁迫下（）幼苗中六种抗氧化酶的行为模式高度相似。
本研究首次报道了褪黑素在干旱胁迫条件下对（）幼苗具有保护作用。这种作用与 ROS 清除、抗氧化酶的激活以及植物激素的相互作用有关。本研究为提高（）适应干旱环境的能力提供了理论依据。
