Photosynthetica 2019, 57(3):812-819 | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2019.100

Melatonin confers drought stress tolerance in soybean (Glycine max L.) by modulating photosynthesis, osmolytes, and reactive oxygen metabolism

L. CAO†, X.J. JIN†, Y.X. ZHANG
Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163000 Heilongjiang, China

In order to investigate the role of melatonin in the drought tolerance, we examined pigments, gas exchange, osmolytes, and reactive oxygen radical metabolism in soybean plants. Drought declined photosynthetic pigments and caused irreversible reduction in net photosynthesis, which was followed by stomatal limitation for 5 and 10 d and nonstomatal limitation for 15 d. Soluble sugar, soluble proteins, and proline concentrations were higher in drought-stressed seedlings compared with the control. The contents of superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and malondialdehyde increased during drought stress indicating oxidative stress. Drought stress also increased superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase activities. Melatonin treatment improved the tolerance of drought-treated plants, which was possibly due to the enhanced content of osmolytes and higher antioxidant enzyme activities that retard dehydration and lipid peroxidation.

Keywords: carotenoid; chlorophyll; gas-exchange parameters; plant growth regulator; reactive oxygen species.

Received: July 12, 2018; Accepted: June 10, 2019; Prepublished online: June 25, 2019; Published: July 23, 2019Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
CAO, L., JIN, X.J., & ZHANG, Y.X. (2019). Melatonin confers drought stress tolerance in soybean (Glycine max L.) by modulating photosynthesis, osmolytes, and reactive oxygen metabolism. Photosynthetica, 57(3), 812-819. doi: 10.32615/ps.2019.100.
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)

    • Open full article

    References

    1. Alonso R., Elvira S., Castillo F.J., Gimeno B.S.: Interactive effects of ozone and drought stress on pigments and activities of antioxidative enzymes in Pinus halepensis. - Plant Cell Environ. 24: 905-916, 2001. Go to original source...
    2. Arnon D.T.: Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts. Polyphenol oxidase in Beta vulgaris. - Plant Physiol. 24: 1-15, 1949. Go to original source...
    3. Basu S., Roychoudhury A., Saha P.P., Sengupta D.N.: Differential antioxidative responses of indica rice cultivars to drought stress. - Plant Growth Regul. 60: 51-59, 2010. Go to original source...
    4. Bates L.S., Waldren R.P., Teare I.D.: Rapid determination of free proline for water-stress studies. - Plant Soil 39: 205-207, 1973. Go to original source...
    5. Chen F., Wang F., Wu F. et al.: Modulation of exogenous glutathione in antioxidant defense system against Cd stress in the two barley genotypes differing in Cd tolerance. - Plant Physiol. Bioch. 48: 663-672, 2010. Go to original source...
    6. Cui G., Zhao X., Liu S. et al.: Beneficial effects of melatonin in overcoming drought stress in wheat seedlings. - Plant Physiol. Bioch. 118: 138-149, 2017. Go to original source...
    7. Deng B., Du W., Liu C. et al.: Antioxidant response to drought, cold and nutrient stress in two ploidy levels of tobacco plants: low resource requirement confers polytolerance in polyploids? - Plant Growth Regul. 66: 37-47, 2012. Go to original source...
    8. Du J.Y, Chen X.Y., Li W. et al.: Osmoregulation mechanism of drought stress and genetic engineering strategies for improving drought resistance in plants. - For. Stud. China 6: 56-62, 2004. Go to original source...
    9. Dubbels R., Reiter R.J., Klenke E. et al.: Melatonin in edible plants identified by radioimmunoassay and by high perfor-mance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. - J. Pineal Res. 18: 28-31, 1995. Go to original source...
    10. Fu J., Huang B.: Involvement of antioxidants and lipid peroxi-dation in the adaptation of two cool-season grasses to localized drought stress. - Environ. Exp. Bot. 45: 105-114, 2001. Go to original source...
    11. Guidi L., Tonini M., Soldatini G.F.: Effects of high light and ozone fumigation on photosynthesis in Phaseolus vulgaris. - Plant Physiol. Bioch. 38: 717-725, 2000. Go to original source...
    12. Harrison M.T., Tardieu F., Dong Z. et al.: Characterizing drought stress and trait influence on maize yield under current and future conditions. - Glob. Change Biol. 20: 867-878, 2014. Go to original source...
    13. Hattori A., Migitaka H., Iigo M. et al.: Identification of melatonin in plants and its effects on plasma melatonin levels and binding to melatonin receptors in vertebrates. - Biochem. Mol. Biol. Int. 35: 627-634, 1995.
    14. Hendrix D.L.: Rapid extraction and analysis of nonstructural carbohydrates in plant tissues. - Crop Sci. 33: 1306-1311, 1993. Go to original source...
    15. Hu W.H., Yan X.H., Xiao Y.A. et al.: 24-Epibrassinosteroid alleviate drought-induced inhibition of photosynthesis in Capsicum annuum. - Sci. Hortic.-Amsterdam 150: 232-237, 2013.
    16. Jia H., Oguchi R., Hope A. et al.: Differential effects of severe water stress on linear and cyclic electron fluxes through Photosystem I in spinach leaf discs in CO2-enriched air. - Planta 228: 803-812, 2008. Go to original source...
    17. Kaczmarek M., Fedorowicz-Strońska O., Głowacka K. et al.: CaCl2 treatment improves drought stress tolerance in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). - Acta Physiol. Plant. 39: 41, 2017. Go to original source...
    18. Li C., Wang P., Wei Z. et al.: The mitigation effects of exogenous melatonin on salinity-induced stress in Malus hupehensis. - J. Pineal Res. 53: 298-306, 2012. Go to original source...
    19. Maehly A.C.: The assay of catalases and peroxidases. - In: Glick D. (ed.): Methods of Biochemical Analysis. Vol. 1. Pp. 357-424. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1954. Go to original source...
    20. Patterson B.D., MacRae E.A., Ferguson I.B.: Estimation of hydrogen peroxide in plant extracts using titanium(IV). - Anal. Biochem. 139: 487-492, 1984. Go to original source...
    21. Posmyk M.M., Kuran H., Marciniak K., Janas K.M.: Presowing seed treatment with melatonin protects red cabbage seedlings against toxic copper ion concentrations. - J. Pineal Res. 45: 24-31, 2008. Go to original source...
    22. Shi H., Jiang C., Ye T. et al.: Comparative physiological, metabolomic, and transcriptomic analyses reveal mechanisms of improved abiotic stress resistance in bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L). Pers.] by exogenous melatonin. - J. Exp. Bot. 66: 681-694, 2015. Go to original source...
    23. Smith P.K., Krohn R.I., Hermanson G.T. et al.: Measurement of protein using bicinchoninic acid. - Anal. Biochem. 150: 76-85, 1985. Go to original source...
    24. Tan D.X., Hardeland R., Manchester L.C. et al.: Functional roles of melatonin in plants, and perspectives in nutritional and agricultural science. - J. Exp. Bot. 63: 577-597, 2012. Go to original source...
    25. Wang A.G., Luo G.H.: The quantitative relationship between superoxide radical reaction and hydroxylamine in plants. - Plant Physiol. Commun. 26: 55-57, 1990. [In Chinese]
    26. Wang P., Sun X., Li C. et al.: Long-term exogenous application of melatonin delays drought-induced leaf senescence in apple. - J. Pineal Res. 54: 292-302, 2013. Go to original source...
    27. Wei W., Li Q.T., Chu Y.N. et al.: Melatonin enhances plant growth and abiotic stress tolerance in soybean plants. - J. Exp. Bot. 66: 695-707, 2015. Go to original source...
    28. Yin C., Peng Y., Zang R. et al.: Adaptive responses of Populus kangdingensis to drought stress. - Physiol. Plantarum 123: 445-451, 2005. Go to original source...
    29. Zhang L.J., Jia J.F., Xu Y. et al.: Production of transgenic Nicotiana sylvestris plants expressing melatonin synthetase genes and their effect on UV-B-induced DNA damage. - In Vitro Cell. Dev.-Pl. 48: 275-282, 2012.
    30. Zhang N., Zhang H.J., Zhao B. et al.: The RNA-seq approach to discriminate gene expression profiles in response to melatonin on cucumber lateral root formation. - J. Pineal Res. 56: 39-50, 2014. Go to original source...
    31. Zhang N., Zhao B., Zhang H.J. et al.: Melatonin promotes water-stress tolerance, lateral root formation, and seed germination in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). - J. Pineal Res. 54: 15-23, 2012. Go to original source...

    Return to the content