Nitric oxide mitigates salt stress effects of pepper seedlings by altering nutrient uptake, enzyme activity and osmolyte accumulation

Shams M., EKİNCİ M., ÖRS CIRIK S., TURAN M., AĞAR G., Kull R., ...More

PHYSIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF PLANTS, vol.25, no.5, pp.1149-1161, 2019 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 25 Issue: 5
  • Publication Date: 2019
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s12298-019-00692-2
  • Journal Name: PHYSIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF PLANTS
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.1149-1161
  • Keywords: Growth parameters, Mineral uptake, Nitric oxide, Pepper, Photosynthetic rate, Salinity, SALICYLIC-ACID, CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE, OXIDATIVE STRESS, SALINITY STRESS, GAS-EXCHANGE, TOLERANCE, PLANTS, L., METABOLISM, ANTIOXIDANTS
  • Ataturk University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This study was planned to evaluate the role of exogenous application of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO donor, on the deleterious effect of salinity in Capsicum annum L. seedlings. Different NO doses (0, 50, 100 and 150 mu M SNP) were foliarly applied to pepper seedlings grown under the non-saline and saline conditions (50, 100 and 150 mM of NaCl). The photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), transpiration rate (Tr), mineral element (Zn, Fe, B, K, Ca and Mg) uptake, plant growth and leaf relative water content (LRWC) were decreased by NaCl treatment, but NO treatments generally improved the observed parameters. 150 mM NaCl treatment caused overaccumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) by 87 and 100% respectively as compared to control. However, NO application (150 mu M SNP) at 150 mM of NaCl significantly decreased H2O2 and MDA to 34 and 54%, respectively. The present study clarified that the exogenous NO treatment supported pepper seedlings against salinity stress by regulating the mineral nutrient uptake, antioxidant enzyme activity, osmolyte accumulation, and improving the LRWC and photosynthetic activity.