Guanqiang Zuo, Jingxin Huo, Xiaohui Yang, Wanqi Mei, Rui Zhang, Aaqil Khan, Naijie Feng, Dianfeng Zheng

BMC Plant Biol.; 2024 Jan 10; 24(1):41. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-04723-3.

Abstract

Background: Salinity stress is an environmental constraint that normally develops concurrently under field conditions, resulting in drastic limitation of rice plant growth and grain productivity. The objective of this study was to explore the alleviating effects of NaCl pre-treatment on rice seedlings as well as the salt tolerance mechanisms by evaluating morph-physiological traits.

Results: Variety Huanghuazhan, either soaked in distilled water or 25 mg/L Prohexadione calcium (Pro-Ca), were first hardened with varying concentrations of NaCl solutions (0 and 50 mM NaCl), and then subjected to varying degrees of salt stress (0 and 100 mM NaCl), indicated by S0, S1, S2 and S3, respectively. Growth analysis suggested that NaCl-pretreatment improved the root/shoot ratio in water-soaked rice plant at DAP 0. Data related to the reaction center density, photosynthetic electron transport efficiency, trapping efficiency were compared before (CK) using performance Index (PIabs). Compared to S2 (Pro-Ca-S2) treatment, PIabs did not show any difference with plants pre-treated with NaCl (S3 or Pro-Ca-S3). Rather than PIabs, significant difference was found in photosynthetic electron transport efficiency (Ψ_Eo). The Ψ_Eo value in Pro-S2 was significantly lowered as compared to Pro-S3 treatment at DAP 7, and the decrease rate was about 6.5%. Correlation analysis indicated leaf PIabs was weak correlated with plant biomass while the quantum yield for reduction of the PSI end electron acceptors, trapped energy flux per reaction center and PSII antenna size displayed strong positive correlation with biomass. Additional analysis revealed that 100 mM NaCl significantly reduced leaf linear electron flux under low-light conditions, regardless of whether seedlings had been pre-treated with 50 mM NaCl or not.

Conclusions: NaCl-induced salt tolerance was related to the robust photosynthetic machinery.

See https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38195408/

Fig. 2

Effect of NaCl pretreatment on light potential. * indicated the difference at 0.05 possibility level