Foliar Application of Spermidine Alleviates Waterlogging-Induced Damages to Maize Seedlings by Enhancing Antioxidative Capacity, Modulating Polyamines and Ethylene Biosynthesis

Transcriptomic analysis reveals potential roles of polyamine and proline metabolism in waterlogged peach roots inoculated with Funneliformis mosseae and Serendipita indica

Root-associated endophytic fungi can create symbiotic relationships with trees to enhance stress tolerance, but the underlying mechanisms, especially with regard to waterlogging tolerance, remain unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of Funneliformis mosseae and Serendipita indica on the growth, root cross-section structure, and root transcriptional responses of peach under waterlogging stress, with a focus on polyamine and proline metabolism. Genes and transcription factors associated with secondary cell wall biosynthesis were selected, and their expression profiles were analyzed. Funneliformis mosseae significantly increased the height, stem diameter and leaf number of peach seedlings subjected to 2 weeks of waterlogging stress, whereas S. indica only significantly improved stem diameter. Both fungal species substantially increased root diameter, stele diameter, the number of late metaxylem inside the stele and late metaxylem diameter, thus improving aeration within inoculated roots under waterlogging stress. Transcriptomic analysis of waterlogged roots identified 5425 and 5646 differentially expressed genes following inoculation with F. mosseae and S. indica, respectively. The arginine and proline metabolism and arginine biosynthesis pathways were enriched following fungal inoculations. Both fungi reduced the conversion of glutamate and ornithine for proline synthesis. However, S. indica promoted peptide-to-proline conversion by up-regulating the expression of PIPs. Although both fungi promoted the expression of genes involved in arginine and ornithine synthesis pathway, only F. mosseae led to increased levels of arginine and ornithine. Additionally, F. mosseae promoted the accumulation of putrescine and maintained polyamine homeostasis by down-regulating PAO2 and SAMDC. Moreover, F. mosseae facilitated the metabolism of cadaverine. In conclusion, both F. mosseae and S. indica formed symbiotic relationships with peach plants, with F. mosseae primarily improving polyamine accumulation and S. indica predominantly facilitating proline accumulation for enhanced waterlogging resistance.

Molybdenum Can Regulate the Expression of Molybdase Genes, Affect Molybdase Activity and Metabolites, and Promote the Cell Wall Bio-Synthesis of Tobacco Leaves

Molybdenum (Mo) is widely used as a micronutrient fertilizer to improve plant growth and soil quality. However, the interactions between cell wall biosynthesis and molybdenum have not been explored sufficiently. This study thoroughly investigated the regulatory effects of different concentrations of Mo on tobacco cell wall biosynthesis from physiological and metabolomic aspects. The results indicate that Mo treatment increased the Mo content of tobacco variety K326. Moreover, it significantly up-regulated the gene expression levels of molybdases (NR, AO, SO, XDH) and molybdate transporters in tobacco, whereby the gene expression levels of NR were upregulated by 28.48%, 52.51%, 173.05%, and 246.21%, respectively; and MOT1 and MOT2 were upregulated by 21.49/8.67%, 66.05/30.44%, 93.05/93.26%, and 166.11/114.29%, respectively. Additionally, Mo treatment regulated the synthesis of related enzymes, effectively promoted plant growth, and significantly increased biomass and dry matter accumulation, with the biomass in the leaves increasing significantly by 30.73%, 40.72%, 46.34%, and 12.88%, respectively. The FT-NIR spectroscopy results indicate that after Mo was applied to the soil, the quantity of C-O-C, -COOH, C-H, and N-H functional groups increased. Concurrently, the contents of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, protopectin, and soluble pectin in the leaves significantly increased, wherein the content of soluble pectin and hemicellulose increased significantly by 31.01/288.82%, 40.69/343.43%, 69.93/241.73%, and 196.88/223.26%, respectively. Furthermore, the cell walls thickened, increasing the ability of the plant to withstand disturbances. The metabolic network diagrams indicate that Mo regulated galactose metabolism, and arginine and proline acid biosynthesis. The contents of carbohydrates, spermidine, proline, quinic acid, IAA, flavonoids, and other substances were increased, increasing the levels of polysaccharides and pectin within the cell wall, controlling lignin production, and successfully enhancing resistance to abiotic stress. These results offer important perspectives for further investigations into the role of trace elements.

Deciphering Physio-Biochemical Basis of Tolerance Mechanism for Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Genotypes under Waterlogging Stress at Early Vegetative Stage

Waterlogging represents a substantial agricultural concern, inducing harmful impacts on crop development and productivity. In the present study, 142 diverse sesame genotypes were examined during the early vegetative phase to assess their response under waterlogging conditions. Based on the severity of symptoms observed, 2 genotypes were classified as highly tolerant, 66 as moderately tolerant, 69 as susceptible, and 5 as highly susceptible. Subsequent investigation focused on four genotypes, i.e., two highly tolerant (JLT-8 and GP-70) and two highly susceptible (R-III-F6 and EC-335003). These genotypes were subjected to incremental stress periods (0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h) to elucidate the biochemical basis of tolerance mechanisms. Each experiment was conducted as a randomized split-plot design with three replications, and the statistical significance of the treatment differences was determined using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Fisher least significant difference (LSD) test at p ≤ 0.05. The influence of waterlogging stress on morphological growth was detrimental for both tolerant and susceptible genotypes, with more severe consequences observed in the latter. Although adventitious roots were observed in both sets of genotypes above flooding levels, the tolerant genotypes exhibited a more rapid and vigorous development of these roots after 48 h of stress exposure. Tolerant genotypes displayed higher tolerance coefficients compared to susceptible genotypes. Furthermore, tolerant genotypes maintained elevated antioxidant potential, thereby minimizing oxidative stress. Conversely, susceptible genotypes exhibited higher accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde content. Photosynthetic efficiency was reduced in all genotypes after 24 h of stress treatment, with a particularly drastic reduction in susceptible genotypes compared to their tolerant counterparts. Tolerant genotypes exhibited significantly higher activities of anaerobic metabolism enzymes, enabling prolonged survival under waterlogging conditions. Increase in proline content was observed in all the genotypes indicating the cellular osmotic balance adjustments in response to stress exposure. Consequently, the robust antioxidant potential and efficient anaerobic metabolism observed in the tolerant genotypes served as key mechanisms enabling their resilience to short-term waterlogging exposure. These findings underscore the promising potential of specific sesame genotypes in enhancing crop resilience against waterlogging stress, offering valuable insights for agricultural practices and breeding programs.

Uncovering the synergistic interplay of melatonin and spermidine in the alleviation of nematode stress in Solanum lycopersicum

Worldwide, biotic stress severely degrades agricultural output and increases the risk of starvation. Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita) are one of the important endoparasites that adversely affect the growth and development in plants, thus affecting their productivity. Contrarily, humans employ a number of unfriendly techniques, such as chemical applications, to manage biotic stressors. Use of Plant Growth Regulators is an environmentally safe alternative method against chemical pesticides that can be used to defend plants from biotic stressors. Melatonin and polyamines have been broadly found in multiple physiological processes and in diverse biotic and abiotic stresses faced by plants. In the contemporaneous study, we conducted an in vitro experiment which disclosed that pretreated seeds with melatonin and spermidine (a polyamine), decreased root galls in afflicted plants and uplifted the growth of Solanum lycopersicum seedlings. According to our findings, tomato plants' photosynthetic efficiency dropped and reactive oxygen species levels dramatically rose after nematode inoculation. On the other hand, melatonin and spermidine decreased oxidative stress by scavenging hydrogen peroxide and decreased malonaldehyde. The present work investigated improvement in growth characteristics, photosynthetic pigments, antioxidative enzymes and non-antioxidative enzymes in PGR treated tomato seedlings even during the nematode stress. Confocal studies evaluated nuclear damage within root apices and intensity of blue colour was directly proportional to nuclear damage. The findings of the present investigation support the use of plant growth regulators, melatonin and spermidine as seed priming agent to manage nematode stress in plants.