Exogenous Melatonin Protects Lime Plants from Drought Stress-Induced Damage by Maintaining Cell Membrane Structure, Detoxifying ROS and Regulating Antioxidant Systems
Lime is an important commercial product in tropical and subtropical regions, where drought stress is becoming one of the most severe environmental challenges in the agricultural sector. Melatonin is an antioxidant molecule that helps plants regulate their development and respond to a variety of stre...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Horticulturae |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/3/257 |
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| author | Marziyeh Jafari Ali Reza Shahsavar Majid Talebi Mohsen Hesami |
| author_facet | Marziyeh Jafari Ali Reza Shahsavar Majid Talebi Mohsen Hesami |
| author_sort | Marziyeh Jafari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lime is an important commercial product in tropical and subtropical regions, where drought stress is becoming one of the most severe environmental challenges in the agricultural sector. Melatonin is an antioxidant molecule that helps plants regulate their development and respond to a variety of stresses. In this research, the effects of exogenous melatonin treatments were evaluated at different concentrations (0, 50, 100, and 150 μM) on biochemical aspects and gene expression in two species of lime plants (“Mexican lime” and “Persian lime”) under normal (100% field capacity (FC)) and drought stress conditions (75% and 40% FC). The experiments were factorial and based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replicates. Drought stress caused electrolyte leakage (EL) as well as accumulations of hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) and malondialdehyde (MDA), indicating the occurrence of damage to cellular membranes. In contrast, the melatonin pretreatment at various concentrations reduced the levels of EL, H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and MDA while mitigating the negative effects of drought stress on the two lime species. The application of melatonin (100-μM) significantly increased the level of proline content and activity of antioxidant enzymes in plants under drought stress compared to control plants. According to real-time PCR analysis, drought stress and melatonin treatment enhanced the expression of genes involved in ROS scavenging, proline biosynthesis, and cell redox regulation in both species, as compared to their respective controls. According to these findings, melatonin is able to detoxify ROS and regulate antioxidant systems, thereby protecting lime plants from drought stress-induced damages. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:45:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1e46eee3c00b4b79b5650c7781855d73 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:45:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj.art-1e46eee3c00b4b79b5650c7781855d732023-11-24T01:26:07ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242022-03-018325710.3390/horticulturae8030257Exogenous Melatonin Protects Lime Plants from Drought Stress-Induced Damage by Maintaining Cell Membrane Structure, Detoxifying ROS and Regulating Antioxidant SystemsMarziyeh Jafari0Ali Reza Shahsavar1Majid Talebi2Mohsen Hesami3Department of Horticultural Science, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz 7144113131, IranDepartment of Horticultural Science, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz 7144113131, IranDepartment of Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 8415683111, IranDepartment of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, CanadaLime is an important commercial product in tropical and subtropical regions, where drought stress is becoming one of the most severe environmental challenges in the agricultural sector. Melatonin is an antioxidant molecule that helps plants regulate their development and respond to a variety of stresses. In this research, the effects of exogenous melatonin treatments were evaluated at different concentrations (0, 50, 100, and 150 μM) on biochemical aspects and gene expression in two species of lime plants (“Mexican lime” and “Persian lime”) under normal (100% field capacity (FC)) and drought stress conditions (75% and 40% FC). The experiments were factorial and based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replicates. Drought stress caused electrolyte leakage (EL) as well as accumulations of hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) and malondialdehyde (MDA), indicating the occurrence of damage to cellular membranes. In contrast, the melatonin pretreatment at various concentrations reduced the levels of EL, H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and MDA while mitigating the negative effects of drought stress on the two lime species. The application of melatonin (100-μM) significantly increased the level of proline content and activity of antioxidant enzymes in plants under drought stress compared to control plants. According to real-time PCR analysis, drought stress and melatonin treatment enhanced the expression of genes involved in ROS scavenging, proline biosynthesis, and cell redox regulation in both species, as compared to their respective controls. According to these findings, melatonin is able to detoxify ROS and regulate antioxidant systems, thereby protecting lime plants from drought stress-induced damages.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/3/257antioxidant<i>Citrus</i>gene expressionhydrogen peroxidemalondialdehydemelatonin |
| spellingShingle | Marziyeh Jafari Ali Reza Shahsavar Majid Talebi Mohsen Hesami Exogenous Melatonin Protects Lime Plants from Drought Stress-Induced Damage by Maintaining Cell Membrane Structure, Detoxifying ROS and Regulating Antioxidant Systems Horticulturae antioxidant <i>Citrus</i> gene expression hydrogen peroxide malondialdehyde melatonin |
| title | Exogenous Melatonin Protects Lime Plants from Drought Stress-Induced Damage by Maintaining Cell Membrane Structure, Detoxifying ROS and Regulating Antioxidant Systems |
| title_full | Exogenous Melatonin Protects Lime Plants from Drought Stress-Induced Damage by Maintaining Cell Membrane Structure, Detoxifying ROS and Regulating Antioxidant Systems |
| title_fullStr | Exogenous Melatonin Protects Lime Plants from Drought Stress-Induced Damage by Maintaining Cell Membrane Structure, Detoxifying ROS and Regulating Antioxidant Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exogenous Melatonin Protects Lime Plants from Drought Stress-Induced Damage by Maintaining Cell Membrane Structure, Detoxifying ROS and Regulating Antioxidant Systems |
| title_short | Exogenous Melatonin Protects Lime Plants from Drought Stress-Induced Damage by Maintaining Cell Membrane Structure, Detoxifying ROS and Regulating Antioxidant Systems |
| title_sort | exogenous melatonin protects lime plants from drought stress induced damage by maintaining cell membrane structure detoxifying ros and regulating antioxidant systems |
| topic | antioxidant <i>Citrus</i> gene expression hydrogen peroxide malondialdehyde melatonin |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/3/257 |
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