Plant-Derived Smoke Mitigates the Inhibitory Effects of the Auxin Inhibitor 2,3,5-Triiodo Benzoic Acid (TIBA) by Enhancing Root Architecture and Biochemical Parameters in Maize

Gulfan Ullah; Muhammad Ibrahim; Ghazala Nawaz; Amana Khatoon; Muhammad Jamil; Shafiq Ur Rehman; Essam A Ali; Akash Tariq

doi:10.3390/plants12142604

Plant-Derived Smoke Mitigates the Inhibitory Effects of the Auxin Inhibitor 2,3,5-Triiodo Benzoic Acid (TIBA) by Enhancing Root Architecture and Biochemical Parameters in Maize

Plants (Basel). 2023 Jul 10;12(14):2604. doi: 10.3390/plants12142604.

Authors

Gulfan Ullah¹, Muhammad Ibrahim¹, Ghazala Nawaz¹, Amana Khatoon¹, Muhammad Jamil¹, Shafiq Ur Rehman², Essam A Ali³, Akash Tariq⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Botany, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat 2600, Pakistan.
² Department of Biology, The University of Haripur, Haripur 2262, Pakistan.
³ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Desert Plant Roots Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China.

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate and compare the effects of plant-derived smoke (PDS) and auxin (IAA and IBA) on maize growth under the application of 2,3,5-triiodo benzoic acid (TIBA). For this purpose, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), each at a concentration of 10 ppm, along with PDS at a ratio of 1:500 (v/v) were used alone and in combination with 10 ppm of TIBA. The results indicate that the germination percentage (%) of maize seeds was enhanced under IAA, IBA and PDS treatment. However, IAA and IBA resulted in reduced germination when applied in combination with TIBA. Importantly, the germination percentage (%) was improved by PDS under TIBA treatment. The analysis of seedling height, length of leaves, and number of primary, seminal and secondary/lateral roots showed improvement under individual treatments of IAA and IBA, PDS and PDS + TIBA treatment, while these values were reduced under IAA + TIBA and IBA + TIBA application. Chlorophyll content, total soluble sugars and antioxidative enzymatic activity including POD and SOD increased in seedlings treated with PDS alone or both PDS and TIBA, while in seedlings treated with IAA and TIBA or IBA and TIBA, their levels were decreased. APX and CAT responded in the opposite way-under IAA, IBA and PDS treatment, their levels were found to be lower than the control (simple water treatment), while TIBA treatment with either IAA, IBA or PDS enhanced their levels as compared to the control. These results reveal that PDS has the potential to alleviate the inhibitory effects of TIBA. This study highlights the role of PDS in preventing TIBA from blocking the auxin entry sites.

Keywords: 2,3,5-triiodo benzoic acid; indole-3-acetic acid; indole-3-butyric acid; plant-derived smoke solution.

Grants and funding

This research work was supported by Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP2023R45) at King Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia. This research work was also financially supported by the project awarded by the Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, Pakistan.