Open AccessNitric oxide mitigates salt stress effects of pepper seedlings by altering nutrient uptake, enzyme activity and osmolyte accumulation
Author(s) -
Mostafakamal Shams,
Melek Ekinci,
Selda Örs,
Metin Turan,
Güleray Ağar,
Raziye Kul,
Ertan Yıldırım
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
physiology and molecular biology of plants/physiology and molecular biology of plants
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.754
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 0971-5894
pISSN - 0974-0430
DOI - 10.1007/s12298-019-00692-2
Subject(s) - osmolyte , chemistry , pepper , hydrogen peroxide , transpiration , salinity , plant physiology , horticulture , stomatal conductance , photosynthesis , proline , nitric oxide , malondialdehyde , nitrate reductase , nutrient , botany , antioxidant , food science , enzyme , biochemistry , biology , ecology , organic chemistry , amino acid
This study was planned to evaluate the role of exogenous application of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO donor, on the deleterious effect of salinity in Capsicum annum L. seedlings. Different NO doses (0, 50, 100 and 150 µM SNP) were foliarly applied to pepper seedlings grown under the non-saline and saline conditions (50, 100 and 150 mM of NaCl). The photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), intercellular CO 2 concentration (Ci), transpiration rate (Tr), mineral element (Zn, Fe, B, K, Ca and Mg) uptake, plant growth and leaf relative water content (LRWC) were decreased by NaCl treatment, but NO treatments generally improved the observed parameters. 150 mM NaCl treatment caused overaccumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and malondialdehyde (MDA) by 87 and 100% respectively as compared to control. However, NO application (150 µM SNP) at 150 mM of NaCl significantly decreased H 2 O 2 and MDA to 34 and 54%, respectively. The present study clarified that the exogenous NO treatment supported pepper seedlings against salinity stress by regulating the mineral nutrient uptake, antioxidant enzyme activity, osmolyte accumulation, and improving the LRWC and photosynthetic activity.