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Exogenous Melatonin Improves the Growth of Rice Seedlings by Regulating Redox Balance and Ion Homeostasis Under Salt Stress

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Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of foliar spraying melatonin (MT) on the growth of salt-stressed rice. Seedlings were treated with 50 and 100 mM of NaCl and different concentrations of MT (25, 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 μM) for 14 days. Different concentrations of MT could promote plant growth significantly under salt stress, particularly at concentrations of 200, 300, and 400 μM. A concentration of 200 μM MT was considered as optimal and used in a subsequent experiment on biomass, water content, antioxidation, mineral nutrition, salt absorption, and distribution of salt-stressed rice seedlings. Results showed that MT’s promoting effect on plant growth under salt stress was evident with time, particularly under high salt stress. MT improved the activities of antioxidant enzymes, reduced membrane lipid peroxidation, alleviated cell injury in plant leaves, and increased N content and Si accumulation in the leaves and roots under salt stress, particularly under high salinity. This compound also inhibited Na uptake and upward transport, but it promoted or maintained the uptake and upward transport of K and Ca in salt-stressed rice. Thus, MT improved the ion homeostasis of K/Na and Ca/Na in plants, particularly in the leaves. Foliar spraying of MT alleviated salt stress on rice by promoting nutrient accumulation or translocation, improving ion homeostasis, which is evident in the leaves, and consequently enhancing its salt resistance. The antioxidative improvement caused by MT might also be related to the improved ion homeostasis.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Grants from the “National Natural Science Foundation of China (31672141),” “Open Foundation of Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology of Jiangsu Province (YCSL201902),” “Key Research and Development Projects of Jiangsu Province (BE2018680),” “Research and Development Projects of Taizhou Science and Technology (SNY20190077),” and “Training Programs of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates of Nanjing Agricultural University (1913C19).”

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  1. Long Wei, Haiyan Zhao and Baoxiang Wang have contributed equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

    Long Wei, Haiyan Zhao, Xinyi Wu, Rujia Lan, Xu Huang, Bo Chen, Jinlan Wang & Qingsong Zheng

  2. Lianyungang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lianyungang, China

    Baoxiang Wang & Yan Liu

  3. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    Xu Huang, Bo Chen, Gang Chen & Qingsong Zheng

  4. Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China

    Chaoqiang Jiang

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  1. Long Wei
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Contributions

Long Wei, Baoxiang Wang, Chaoqiang Jiang and Qingsong Zheng planned and designed the research. Long Wei, Haiyan Zhao, Xinyi Wu, Rujia Lan, Xu Huang, Bo Chen, Jinlan Wang and Yan Liu performed the experiments and data analysis. Gang Chen reviewed and edited the manuscript and procured funding. Long Wei, Haiyan Zhao, Xinyi Wu and Baoxiang Wang wrote the manuscript. Qingsong Zheng performed project administration, execution of the experiment, reviewed and edited the manuscript, and procured funding.

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Correspondence to Qingsong Zheng.

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Wei, L., Zhao, H., Wang, B. et al. Exogenous Melatonin Improves the Growth of Rice Seedlings by Regulating Redox Balance and Ion Homeostasis Under Salt Stress. J Plant Growth Regul 41, 2108–2121 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-021-10417-z

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