Water deficit inhibits plant growth by affecting several physiological processes, which leads to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that may cause oxidative stress. In this regard, iodine (I) is already known to possibly enhance the antioxidant defense system of plants and promote photosynthetic improvements under adverse conditions. However, its direct effect on water deficit responses has not yet been demonstrated. To verify the efficiency of I concerning plant tolerance to water deficit, we exposed soybean plants to different concentrations of potassium iodide (KI) fed to pots with a nutrient solution and subsequently submitted them to water deficit. A decline in biomass accumulation was observed in plants under water deficit, while exposure to KI (10 and 20 μmol L-1) increased plant biomass by an average of 40%. Furthermore, exposure to KI concentrations of up to 20 μM improved gas exchange (~71%) and reduced lipid peroxidation. This is related to the higher enzymatic antioxidant activities found at 10 and 20 μM KI concentrations. However, when soybean plants were properly irrigated, KI concentrations greater than 10 μM promoted negative changes in photosynthetic efficiency, as well as in biomass accumulation and partition. In sum, exposure of soybean plants to 10 μM KI improved tolerance to water deficit, and up to this concentration, there is no evidence of phytotoxicity in plants grown under adequate irrigation.
Keywords: abiotic stress tolerance; antioxidant defense; iodine.