Heat Stress Alleviation by Exogenous Calcium in the Orchid <i>Dendrobium nobile</i> Lindl: A Biochemical and Transcriptomic Analysis

The growth of <i>Dendrobium nobile</i> is sensitive to heat stress. To find an effective method for enhancing heat tolerance, this study investigated the relieving effect of exogenous calcium at different concentrations (0 mmol/L, 5 mmol/L, 10 mmol/L, 15 mmol/L, 20 mmol/L CaCl<sub>...

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Main Authors: Yijun Fan, Jie Ma, Yuanyuan Liu, Xueyan Tan, Xuebing Li, Erya Xu, Linlong Xu, Aoxue Luo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-09-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/19/14692
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Summary:The growth of <i>Dendrobium nobile</i> is sensitive to heat stress. To find an effective method for enhancing heat tolerance, this study investigated the relieving effect of exogenous calcium at different concentrations (0 mmol/L, 5 mmol/L, 10 mmol/L, 15 mmol/L, 20 mmol/L CaCl<sub>2</sub>) on heat stress in <i>D. nobile</i>. Principal component analysis was used to screen the optimal exogenous calcium concentration, and transcriptome analysis was used to reveal its possible heat tolerance mechanism. The results showed that compared with the T0, a 10 mmol/L calcium treatment: increased the average leaf length, leaf width, plant height, and fresh matter accumulation of <i>D. nobile</i> by 76%, 103.39%, 12.97%, and 12.24%, respectively (<i>p</i> < 0.05); significantly increased chlorophyll a (Chla), chlorophyll b (Chlb), carotenoids(Car), ascorbic acid (ASA), glutathione (GSH), and flavonoids by 15.72%, 8.54%, 11.88%, 52.17%, 31.54%, and 36.12%, respectively; and effectively enhanced the enzyme activity of the antioxidant system, increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) by 1.38, 1.61, and 2.16 times, respectively (<i>p</i> < 0.05); At the same time, the treatment can effectively reduce the yellow leaf rate and defoliation rate of <i>D. nobile</i> under heat stress. The principal component analysis method and membership function were used to calculate the D value to rank the relief effects of each calcium treatment group, and the results also showed that 10 mmol/L CaCl<sub>2</sub> had the best relief effect. Transcriptomics testing identified 7013 differentially expressed genes, of which 2719 were upregulated, and 294 were downregulated. Among them, genes such as <i>HSPA1s</i>, <i>HSP90A</i>, <i>HSPBP1</i>, <i>ATG8</i>, <i>COMT</i>, <i>REF1</i>, <i>E1.11.1.7</i>, along with transcription factors such as MYB, bHLH, WRKY, and NAC, formed the network of tolerance to heat stress in <i>D. nobile</i>. This study provides new insights for improving the cultivation techniques of <i>D. nobile</i>.
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067