Acetic acid improves drought acclimation in soybean: an integrative response of photosynthesis, osmoregulation, mineral uptake and antioxidant defense

Abstract

Exposure to drought stress negatively affects plant productivity and consequently threatens global food security. As global climates change, identifying solutions to increase the resilience of plants to drought is increasingly important. Several chemical treatments have recently emerged as promising techniques for various individual and combined abiotic stresses. This study shows compelling evidence on how acetic acid application promotes drought acclimation responses in soybean by investigating several morphological, physiological and biochemical attributes. Foliar applications of acetic acid to drought-exposed soybean resulted in improvements in root biomass, leaf area, photosynthetic rate and water use efficiency; leading to improved growth performance. Drought-induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species, and the resultant increased levels of malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage, were considerably reverted by acetic acid treatment. Acetic acid-sprayed plants suffered less oxidative stress due to the enhancement of antioxidant defense mechanisms, as evidenced by the increased activities of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase. Improved shoot relative water content was also linked to the increased levels of soluble sugars and free amino acids, indicating a better osmotic adjustment following acetic acid treatment in drought-exposed plants. Acetic acid also increased stem/root, leaf/stem and leaf/root mineral ratios and improved

Melatonin alleviates drought impact on growth and essential oil yield of lemon verbena by enhancing antioxidant responses, mineral balance, and abscisic acid content

“…In the present study, drought exposure of lemon verbena plants induced a significant accumulation of H 2 O 2 , which was accompanied by a concomitant increment of MDA in the leaves at all levels of drought (Figure 3A,B). These results indicated that lemon verbena plants suffered from oxidative damage due to the negative consequences of drought at the cellular level, which is supported by previous reports in Glycine max and D. moldavica under water‐limited conditions (Kabiri et al, 2018; Rahman et al, 2020). In fact, a dynamic antioxidant system is a prerequisite for the elimination of ROS under abiotic stresses like drought (Rahman et al, 2020).…”

“…These results indicated that lemon verbena plants suffered from oxidative damage due to the negative consequences of drought at the cellular level, which is supported by previous reports in Glycine max and D. moldavica under water‐limited conditions (Kabiri et al, 2018; Rahman et al, 2020). In fact, a dynamic antioxidant system is a prerequisite for the elimination of ROS under abiotic stresses like drought (Rahman et al, 2020). However, the observed increased levels of H 2 O 2 and MDA, despite the increased activities of SOD, CAT and APX in the leaves of lemon verbena plants, indicated that the stimulation of the enzymatic system was not sufficient to cope with the excessive H 2 O 2 , and hence led to increased oxidative damage (Figure 3A‐E).…”

“…These results indicated that lemon verbena plants suffered from oxidative damage due to the negative consequences of drought at the cellular level, which is supported by previous reports in Glycine max and D. moldavica under water-limited conditions (Kabiri et al, 2018;Rahman et al, 2020). In fact, a dynamic antioxidant system is a prerequisite for the elimination of ROS under abiotic stresses like drought (Rahman et al, 2020). However, the observed increased levels of (Khorasaninejad et al, 2018;Król et al, 2014).…”

“…ROS participate in cellular signaling when they are present at lower concentrations in the cells (Mittler, 2017). Like other abiotic stresses, drought also perturbs the cellular oxygen metabolism, resulting in ROS overproduction (Nguyen et al, 2019; Rahman et al, 2020). Excessive ROS overwhelms the plants' antioxidant capacity.…”

“…Drought detrimentally affects plant growth and development, impeding crop yield and food quality worldwide, especially in drought‐prone arid and semi‐arid regions (Leng & Hall, 2019). Water shortage can have negative impacts on numerous physiological and biochemical processes involved in photosynthesis, nutrient homeostasis, energy production, lipid metabolism, photorespiration, redox balance, and water balance (Kapoor et al, 2020; Nguyen et al, 2019; Rahman et al, 2020). Drought can also induce the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in subcellular compartments, resulting in oxidative damages of cellular constituents (Kapoor et al, 2020; Nguyen et al, 2019).…”