Effects of drought stress at different stages on soluble sugar content of soybeans

Abstract

Soybean (Glycine max L., Merrill) is one of the most important legume crops, with a cultivation history of 5 000 years in China (Kuromori et al. 2022). It is valued for its high oil and protein content and wide application value (Sadak et al. 2020). However, domestic soybean production still falls short of the demand, and about 90% of soybeans must be imported annually into China (Wu et al. 2023). Soybean inevitably suffers from various abiotic stresses (such as drought, high temperature, heavy metal, salt stress, etc.) during its growth and development, which severely affect its quality and yield (Deshmukh et al. 2014, Li et al. 2020). Among them, drought is one of the most limiting factors, causing 25% to 50% yield loss in soybeans (Dong et al. 2019, Wu et al. 2019. Moreover, the impact of drought stress on soybean yield varies depending on the growth stage. Wei et al. (2018) found that drought stress at the flowering and pod-setting stage had the greatest impact on yield, reducing it by 73-82%.Under drought stress, plants reduce water loss by decreasing stomatal aperture, but also limit the entry of CO 2 , thus inhibiting photosynthesis rate (Song et al. 2020). To cope with drought stress, plants can improve their water absorption and retention capacity by reducing leaf area or accumulating os-

Current views of drought research: experimental methods, adaptation mechanisms and regulatory strategies

“…The first is the soil pot water control method, which is also one of the main drought simulation methods ( Figure 1A ). Researchers usually use weighing method or soil moisture meter to control the soil moisture content ( Du et al., 2020 ; Dong et al., 2023 ). In the study of Dong et al.…”

“…Researchers usually use weighing method or soil moisture meter to control the soil moisture content (Du et al, 2020;Dong et al, 2023). In the study of Dong et al (2023), the GB/T 32136-2015 (China national standard) classification method was used to determine the drought level, that is, typical irrigation involves a soil relative water content of 65-75%; mild drought, moderate drought, and severe drought, corresponding to a soil relative water content of 50-60%, 40-50%, and 30-40%, respectively. An obvious advantage of this method is that it is very close to the natural environment and the situation in field production, which is a process of progressive water loss.…”

“…It is still difficult to identify proteins in single cells using mass spectrometry and sequencing-based techniques (Bennett et al, 2023). However, single cell proteomics is still in the preliminary research stage and has been constructed in the medical field (Wang et al, 2023). In the future, it may provide a new perspective for plant stress research.…”