Both protein and starch hydrolysis contribute to the effective mobilization of seed reserves to trigger seed germination. We studied the activities of hydrolytic enzymes in germinating seeds of mung bean (Vigna radiata) exposed to cadmium stress at 0, 25, 50, 75, 100 mg.L-1. Exposure to Cd stress decreased the seed germination rate and early seedling growth traits, including root and shoot length and plant fresh and dry biomass compared to control. The adverse effects of Cd were more prominent in terms of shoot length than root length. Seedling α-amylase and protease activities exhibited significant reductions with increasing Cd dose. We also recorded Cd-induced reduction in total soluble proteins and sugars while the concentration of free amino acids exhibited an increase. Above all, a decrease in the hydrolysis process of reserve carbohydrates, proteins and impaired reserve translocation contributed to the inhibition of seedlings’ germination and early growth traits.

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IntroductionDrought stress has drastically hampered the growth and yield of many crops. Therefore, environmentally safe agricultural techniques are needed to mitigate drought stress impact. To this end, foliar spray of nano-nutrients solution to (NNS) alleviate harmful aspects of drought stress.MethodsIn a completely randomized design (CRD) experiment, seedlings were transplanted into pots at 2-3 leaf stage, each filled with loam-compost- organic manure soil (3:1:1). Plants were divided into two groups. (a) control group (b) applied stress group. Plants at vegetative stage were treated with 100% FC for control group and 60% FC for drought group, and these levels were maintained until harvesting. Three treatments of NNS with four levels i.e., 0%, 1%, 3% and 5% were given to all the pots after two weeks of drought stress treatment with a gap of 5 days at vegetative stage.Results and discussionApplication of 1% of nano-nutrient solution displayed an improvement in shoot length, shoot fresh and dry weight, number of leaves and flowers. Leaf chlorophylls and carotenoids and total phenolics contents were found maximum while minimum electrolyte leakage was observed at 3% application compared to control. Further, 1% application of NNS increased the Leaf RWC%, total soluble sugars, flavonoids contents. 5% NNS application exhibited higher total free amino acids with minimum lipid peroxidation rate in leaves of tomato under drought. Antioxidant enzyme activities increased in a concentration dependent manner as gradual increase was observed at 1%, 3% and 5%, respectively. Overall, this study introduced a new insights on using nano-nutrient solutions to maintain natural resources and ensure agricultural sustainability

The ubiquitination pathway is involved in the posttranslational modification of cellular proteins. However, the role of E3 ubiquitin ligase family proteins under abiotic stress conditions remains unclear, particularly in soybean. The core objective of the current study was to isolate and functionally characterize the GsPUB8 protein gene from wild soybean (Glycine soja) by using a homologous cloning method to investigate its abiotic stress responses. The GsPUB8 is a 40,562 Da molecular weight protein with 373 amino acid residues. The sequence alignment revealed the presence of U-box domain while the phylogenetic analysis showed an abundance of PUB8 proteins in both monocot and dicot plants. Analysis of gene structure predicted the absence of introns along with the presence of one exon. Furthermore, the activity of the GsPUB8 protein was anticipated in the plasma membrane and its expression was persuaded with NaCl, ABA, PEG6000, and NaHCO3 treatments with considerably higher manifestation in roots than leaves although, expressed in both vegetative and reproductive parts of G. soja. GsPUB8 protein showed 54% and 32% sequence identity to U-box domain containing 8 and 12 proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa subsp. japonica, respectively. GsPUB8 exhibited relatively higher expression under saline and drought stress particularly in roots. Whereas, the 3D model of GsPUB8 protein was generated using the SWISS-MODEL. This study can be used to manipulate the GsPUB8 protein or GsPUB8 gene for transformation purposes and its functional characterization under abiotic stress conditions.

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