Induction of salt tolerance in Brassica rapa by nitric oxide treatment

Atiyyah Bano; Zahra Noreen; Fariha Tabassum; Fizza Zafar; Madiha Rashid; Muhammad Aslam; Anis Ali Shah; Adnan Noor Shah; Mariusz Jaremko; Noura Alasmael; Nader R Abdelsalam; Mohamed E Hasan

doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.995837

Induction of salt tolerance in Brassica rapa by nitric oxide treatment

Front Plant Sci. 2022 Nov 16:13:995837. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.995837. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Botany, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan.
² Department of Botany, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan.
³ Department of Chemistry, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan.
⁵ Smart-Health Initiative and Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Smart Hybrid Materials Laboratory, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Agricultural Botany Department, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
⁸ Bioinformatics Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt.

Abstract

Salinity is one of the major plant abiotic stresses increasing over time worldwide. The most important biological role of nitric oxide (NO) in plants is related to their development and growth under abiotic conditions. The present experiment was conducted to study the effect of salt stress (0 and 100 mM) and NO (0 and 80 μM) on two different ecotypes of Brassica rapa (L.): PTWG-HL and PTWG-PK. The different growth attributes, biochemical and physiological parameters, and the mineral contents were examined. The results indicated increased hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), relative membrane permeability, malondialdehyde (MDA), and Na⁺ content and decreased plant biomass in both ecotypes (PTWG-PK and PTWG-HL) under salt stress. In contrast, NO treatment resulted in increased plant biomass, chlorophyll content, and total soluble proteins and decreased H₂O₂, relative membrane permeability, MDA, total phenolic content, catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and Na⁺. The combined effect of salt stress and NO application increased the chlorophyll a content, total phenolic content, and total soluble proteins, but decreased H₂O₂, relative membrane permeability, MDA, and Na⁺. The response of carotenoids, anthocyanins, and K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Cl^- ions varied in both ecotypes under all treatment conditions. The PTWG-PK ecotype showed maximum overall growth response with the application of NO. Henceforth, it is proposed that the molecular mechanisms associated with NO-induced stress tolerance in plants may be exploited to attain sustainability in agriculture under changing climate scenarios.

Keywords: Brassica rapa; antioxidant; ecotypes; nitric oxide; phenolic; salt stress; stress; turnip.