Interactive Effects of Melatonin and Nitrogen Improve Drought Tolerance of Maize Seedlings by Regulating Growth and Physiochemical Attributes
Melatonin plays an important role in numerous vital life processes of animals and has recently captured the interests of plant biologists because of its potent role in plants. As well as its possible contribution to photoperiodic processes, melatonin is believed to act as a growth regulator and/or a...
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Antioxidants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/11/2/359 |
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| author | Shakeel Ahmad Guo-Yun Wang Ihsan Muhammad Yu-Xin Chi Muhammad Zeeshan Jamal Nasar Xun-Bo Zhou |
| author_facet | Shakeel Ahmad Guo-Yun Wang Ihsan Muhammad Yu-Xin Chi Muhammad Zeeshan Jamal Nasar Xun-Bo Zhou |
| author_sort | Shakeel Ahmad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Melatonin plays an important role in numerous vital life processes of animals and has recently captured the interests of plant biologists because of its potent role in plants. As well as its possible contribution to photoperiodic processes, melatonin is believed to act as a growth regulator and/or as a direct free radical scavenger/indirect antioxidant. However, identifying a precise concentration of melatonin with an optimum nitrogen level for a particular application method to improve plant growth requires identification and clarification. This work establishes inimitable findings by optimizing the application of melatonin with an optimum level of nitrogen, alleviating the detrimental effects of drought stress in maize seedlings. Maize seedlings were subjected to drought stress of 40–45% field capacity (FC) at the five-leaf stage, followed by a soil drenching of melatonin 100 µM and three nitrogen levels (200, 250, and 300 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>) to consider the changes in maize seedling growth. Our results showed that drought stress significantly inhibited the physiological and biochemical parameters of maize seedlings. However, the application of melatonin with nitrogen remarkably improved the plant growth attributes, chlorophyll pigments, fluorescence, and gas exchange parameters. Moreover, melatonin and nitrogen application profoundly reduced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation by increasing maize antioxidant and nitrogen metabolism enzyme activities under drought-stress conditions. It was concluded that the mitigating potential of 100 µM melatonin with an optimum level of nitrogen (250 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup>) improves the plant growth, photosynthetic efficiency, and enzymatic activity of maize seedling under drought-stress conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:43:33Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3921 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:43:33Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Antioxidants |
| spelling | doaj.art-6c653754fffe4befa251f1260233585b2023-11-23T18:32:40ZengMDPI AGAntioxidants2076-39212022-02-0111235910.3390/antiox11020359Interactive Effects of Melatonin and Nitrogen Improve Drought Tolerance of Maize Seedlings by Regulating Growth and Physiochemical AttributesShakeel Ahmad0Guo-Yun Wang1Ihsan Muhammad2Yu-Xin Chi3Muhammad Zeeshan4Jamal Nasar5Xun-Bo Zhou6Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Plant Science Education, Agricultural College of Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaGuangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Plant Science Education, Agricultural College of Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaGuangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Plant Science Education, Agricultural College of Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaGuangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Plant Science Education, Agricultural College of Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaGuangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Plant Science Education, Agricultural College of Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaGuangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Plant Science Education, Agricultural College of Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaGuangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Plant Science Education, Agricultural College of Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaMelatonin plays an important role in numerous vital life processes of animals and has recently captured the interests of plant biologists because of its potent role in plants. As well as its possible contribution to photoperiodic processes, melatonin is believed to act as a growth regulator and/or as a direct free radical scavenger/indirect antioxidant. However, identifying a precise concentration of melatonin with an optimum nitrogen level for a particular application method to improve plant growth requires identification and clarification. This work establishes inimitable findings by optimizing the application of melatonin with an optimum level of nitrogen, alleviating the detrimental effects of drought stress in maize seedlings. Maize seedlings were subjected to drought stress of 40–45% field capacity (FC) at the five-leaf stage, followed by a soil drenching of melatonin 100 µM and three nitrogen levels (200, 250, and 300 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>) to consider the changes in maize seedling growth. Our results showed that drought stress significantly inhibited the physiological and biochemical parameters of maize seedlings. However, the application of melatonin with nitrogen remarkably improved the plant growth attributes, chlorophyll pigments, fluorescence, and gas exchange parameters. Moreover, melatonin and nitrogen application profoundly reduced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation by increasing maize antioxidant and nitrogen metabolism enzyme activities under drought-stress conditions. It was concluded that the mitigating potential of 100 µM melatonin with an optimum level of nitrogen (250 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup>) improves the plant growth, photosynthetic efficiency, and enzymatic activity of maize seedling under drought-stress conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/11/2/359melatoninnitrogendrought stressenzyme activitymaize |
| spellingShingle | Shakeel Ahmad Guo-Yun Wang Ihsan Muhammad Yu-Xin Chi Muhammad Zeeshan Jamal Nasar Xun-Bo Zhou Interactive Effects of Melatonin and Nitrogen Improve Drought Tolerance of Maize Seedlings by Regulating Growth and Physiochemical Attributes Antioxidants melatonin nitrogen drought stress enzyme activity maize |
| title | Interactive Effects of Melatonin and Nitrogen Improve Drought Tolerance of Maize Seedlings by Regulating Growth and Physiochemical Attributes |
| title_full | Interactive Effects of Melatonin and Nitrogen Improve Drought Tolerance of Maize Seedlings by Regulating Growth and Physiochemical Attributes |
| title_fullStr | Interactive Effects of Melatonin and Nitrogen Improve Drought Tolerance of Maize Seedlings by Regulating Growth and Physiochemical Attributes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interactive Effects of Melatonin and Nitrogen Improve Drought Tolerance of Maize Seedlings by Regulating Growth and Physiochemical Attributes |
| title_short | Interactive Effects of Melatonin and Nitrogen Improve Drought Tolerance of Maize Seedlings by Regulating Growth and Physiochemical Attributes |
| title_sort | interactive effects of melatonin and nitrogen improve drought tolerance of maize seedlings by regulating growth and physiochemical attributes |
| topic | melatonin nitrogen drought stress enzyme activity maize |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/11/2/359 |
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