Molybdenum induces alterations in the glycerolipidome that confer drought tolerance in wheat

Abstract

Molybdenum (Mo), which is an essential microelement for plant growth, plays important roles in multiple metabolic and physiological processes, including responses to drought and cold stress in wheat. Lipids also have crucial roles in plant adaptions to abiotic stresses. The aim of this study was to use glycerolipidomic and transcriptomic analyses to determine the changes in lipids induced by Mo that are associated with Mo-enhanced drought tolerance in wheat. Mo treatments increased the transcript levels of genes involved in fatty acid and glycerolipid biosynthesis and desaturation, but suppressed the expression of genes involved in oxylipin production. Wheat plants supplemented with Mo displayed higher contents of monogalactosyldiacyglycerol (MGDG), digalactosyldoacylglycerol (DGDG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylcholine (PC) with increased levels of unsaturation. The levels of MGDG, DGDG, PG, and PC increased under PEG-simulated drought (PSD), and the magnitude of the responses varied in the presence and absence of Mo. Mo increased the accumulation of the most abundant glycerolipid species of C36:6, C34:4, and C34:3 by increasing the expression of genes related to desaturation under PSD, and this contributed to maintaining the fluidity of membranes. In addition, Mo attenuated the decreases in the ratios of DGDG/MGDG and PC/PE that were observed under PSD. These changes in lipids in Mo-treated wheat would contribute to maintaining the integrity of membranes and to protecting the photosynthetic apparatus, thus acting together to enhance drought tolerance.

Molybdenum Supply Alleviates the Cadmium Toxicity in Fragrant Rice by Modulating Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Gene Expression

“…However, in this study Mo application decreased the contents of MDA, H 2 O 2 and EL in leaves of both rice cultivars (Figure 3), which proves that Mo supplementation alleviates Cd-induced intracellular membrane damages in fragrant rice. These accommodative strategies of Mo to stabilize and sustain bilayer membranes and save cell membranes against oxidative stress damages agree with previous reports in strawberry [47] and wheat [48].…”

Molybdenum mitigates cadmium stress for bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings

“…Also, molybdenum plays a positive role in preserving the structure and integrity of membranes in wheat leaves, consequently enhancing growth and productivity (Wu et al, 2020). These findings O n l i n e f i r s t align with Al-Ubaidy et al ( 2021) results which demonstrated molybdenum's influence on the electrical conductivity of mung seedlings during drought conditions in the laboratory.…”

“…Balancing nutrients can enhance the plants tolerance to abiotic stress including cadmium stress by the activation of the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defense systems to mitigate the damages caused by the ROS. Many studies proved the vital role of molybdenum in increasing plant tolerance to various abiotic stress (Al-Issawi et al, 2013;Al-Issawi et al, 2016;Wu et al, 2020;. This micronutrient has a very important role in activating the enzymatic and non-enzymatic systems of defense.…”

Molybdenum Foliar Fertilization Improves Photosynthetic Metabolism and Grain Yields of Field-Grown Soybean and Maize

“…Under Brazilian field conditions, the application of Mo via seed or leaves has been shown to be efficient in increasing nodulation, nitrate reductase activity, protein content, leaf area, number of pods, and grain yield ( Calonego et al, 2010 ; Almeida et al, 2013 ; Silva et al, 2017 ; Crusciol et al, 2019 ); however, recent research has demonstrated that Mo also directly impacts photosynthesis due to its involvement in chlorophyll biosynthesis and stability of the photosynthetic apparatus ( Yu et al, 2006 ; Imran et al, 2019 ). In addition, enhancing photosynthesis by adding Mo increases water use efficiency (WUE), leading to greater tolerance of abiotic stresses ( Wu et al, 2020 ). However, these results were obtained in experiments performed under controlled conditions, and the actual effects of Mo supplementation on crop physiology and productivity under field conditions remain unclear.…”