Journal Article

Enhancement of plant growth in lentil (Lens culinaris) under salinity stress by exogenous application or seed priming with salicylic acid and hydrogen peroxide

Bouallegue, Amal, Abbes, Zouhaier, Souissi, Fatma, Horchani, Faouzi, Jalali, Karima, Mhadhbi, Haythem, Tebini, Mohamed, Ahmed, Hela Ben

2025

Overview

This study was conducted in order to test the effect of seed pretreatment or exogenous application through the rooting medium of 0.1 mM Salicylic Acid (SA) and 0.1 mM hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) on growth, nutritional behavior and some biochemical parameters (photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange parameters, oxidative stress indicators and antioxidant enzymes activities) of lentil plants ( Lens culinaris ) under 75 mM salt stress. Our results demonstrated that salt stress noticeably reduced shoot and root DWs by 39.01 and 42.81%, respectively, as compared to controls. This reduction was associated with a significant decrease in all photosynthetic parameters, including Chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoid (Car), net assimilation of photosynthesis ( A ), stomatal conductance ( gs ), transpiration ( E ) and internal CO 2 level ( Ci ), an accumulation of Na + and Cl - and a decrease of K + and Ca 2+ concentrations in plant shoots and roots. In addition, relative to control plants, salt stress remarkably increased the malondialdehyde MDA and H 2 O 2 contents especially in roots and increased GPOX and SOD activities, especially in plant shoots. Both methods of SA and H 2 O 2 application recovered the plant growth, enhanced shoot and root DWs (increase of 67.65 and 82.36% in shoots and roots, respectively, as compared to salt-stressed plants) and increased all parameters that were reduced by NaCl treatment. Nevertheless, the most prominent effects of SA and H 2 O 2 on plant growth were obtained with the seed priming method. Thus, SA and H 2 O 2 applications, especially the H 2 O 2 seed priming method, induced the antioxidant system, improved the membrane stability and ameliorated the gas exchange parameters. As compared to salt plant stressed, Na + and Cl - contents were significantly decreased and K + and Ca 2+ were significantly increased in shoots and roots following SA and H 2 O 2 applications, especially with the H 2 O 2 seed priming method. Similarly, this method was more efficient in alleviating the adverse effects of salt stress on all photosynthetic pigment contents and measured gas exchange parameters. Compared to salt stressed plants, it significantly decreased the H 2 O 2 and MDA contents and further stimulated GPOX and SOD activities. Our results indicated that the seed priming method, particularly with H 2 O 2 , could be recommended for obtaining better growth of lentil seedlings under salt-affected soil conditions.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Abiotic stress / Antioxidants / Antioxidants - metabolism / Beans / Calcium ions / Carbon dioxide / Chlorophyll / Chlorophyll - metabolism / Enzymes / Experiments / Flowers & plants / Gas exchange / Growth / Hydrogen peroxide / Hydrogen Peroxide - pharmacology / Influence / Lens culinaris / Lens Plant - drug effects / Lens Plant - growth & development / Lens Plant - metabolism / Lentils / Malondialdehyde - metabolism / Oxidative stress / Oxidative Stress - drug effects / Parameters / Photosynthesis / Photosynthesis - drug effects / Photosynthetic pigments / Physiological aspects / Physiology / Pigments / Plant growth / Plant growth promoting substances / Plant resistance / Plant Roots - drug effects / Plant Roots - growth & development / Plant Roots - metabolism / Plant Shoots - drug effects / Plant Shoots - growth & development / Plant Shoots - metabolism / Priming / Proteins / Roots / Salicylic acid / Salicylic Acid - pharmacology / Salinity / Salinity tolerance / Salt / Salt stress (Botany) / Salt Stress - drug effects / Salts / Seedlings / Seeds / Seeds - drug effects / Seeds - growth & development / Shoots / Sodium chloride / Soil conditions / Stomata / Stomatal conductance / Stress concentration / Superoxide dismutase / Transpiration / Yeast