Khamis Galal, Alsherif Emad A, Korany Shereen Magdy, Aldailami Danyah A, Aloufi Abeer S, Khalaf Maha H, Hamed Seham M, Maridueña-Zavala Maria Gabriela, Al Jaouni Soad K, Selim Samy
Department of Laser Applications in Metrology, Photochemistry, and Agriculture (LAMPA), National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62521, Egypt.
BMC Plant Biol. 2025 Sep 9;25(1):1199. doi: 10.1186/s12870-025-07022-7.
Drought stress affects plant growth and production. To cope with drought stress, plants induced physiological and metabolic changes, serving as a protective approach under drought-stress conditions. The response to drought can vary based on plant type (C3 vs. C4) and the intensity of the stress. Therefore, here we aimed to investigate the different responses of wheat C3-Triticum aestivum and C4-Amaranthus caudatus plants to drought stress. To this end, the growth, photosynthetic parameters, oxidative stress, total antioxidant capacity, primary metabolites (amino acids and organic and fatty acids) and secondary metabolites (polyamines) were analyzed. Drought stress reduced growth, biomass, relative water content, water potential, and photosynthesis in both plants, with more severe effects observed in wheat. Drought-induced reduction in photosynthesis was linked to lower stomatal conductance, reduced photosynthetic enzyme activity, and decreased Fv/Fm, indicating impaired PSII function, effects that were more pronounced in wheat than in amaranth. This was accompanied by increased oxidative damage, as indicated by elevated levels of lipid peroxidation. To cope with drought stress, both plants accumulated metabolites involved in antioxidant defense and osmoregulation, including total antioxidant capacity, soluble sugars, proline, polyamines, organic acids, and fatty acids. This response was more pronounced in wheat, indicating its active deployment of defenses to cope with significant stress, in contrast to Amaranthus' greater physiological resilience.
干旱胁迫影响植物生长和产量。为应对干旱胁迫，植物会诱导生理和代谢变化，这是干旱胁迫条件下的一种保护机制。对干旱的响应因植物类型（C3植物与C4植物）和胁迫强度而异。因此，我们旨在研究小麦（C3植物 - 普通小麦）和尾穗苋（C4植物）对干旱胁迫的不同响应。为此，对其生长、光合参数、氧化应激、总抗氧化能力、初级代谢产物（氨基酸、有机和脂肪酸）及次级代谢产物（多胺）进行了分析。干旱胁迫降低了两种植物的生长、生物量、相对含水量、水势和光合作用，小麦受到的影响更为严重。干旱诱导的光合作用降低与气孔导度降低、光合酶活性降低以及Fv/Fm降低有关，表明PSII功能受损，这些影响在小麦中比在苋属植物中更为明显。这伴随着氧化损伤增加，脂质过氧化水平升高表明了这一点。为应对干旱胁迫，两种植物都积累了参与抗氧化防御和渗透调节的代谢产物，包括总抗氧化能力、可溶性糖、脯氨酸、多胺、有机酸和脂肪酸。这种响应在小麦中更为明显，表明其积极部署防御机制以应对显著胁迫，而苋属植物则具有更强的生理恢复力。
