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Exogenous strigolactone enhanced the drought tolerance of pepper (Capsicum chinense) by mitigating oxidative damage and altering the antioxidant mechanism

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Abstract

Key message

Exogenous SL positively regulates pepper DS by altering the root morphology, photosynthetic character, antioxidant enzyme activity, stomatal behavior, and SL-related gene expression.

Abstract

Drought stress (DS) has always been a problem for the growth and development of crops, causing significant negative impacts on crop productivity. Strigolactone (SL) is a newly discovered class of plant hormones that are involved in plants’ growth and development and environmental stresses. However, the role of SL in response to DS in pepper remains unknown. DS considerably hindered photosynthetic pigments content, damaged root architecture system, and altered antioxidant machinery. In contrast, SL application significantly restored pigment concentration modified root architecture system, and increased relative chlorophyll content (SPAD). Additionally, SL treatment reduced oxidative damage by reducing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) (24–57%) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (79–89%) accumulation in pepper seedlings. SL-pretreated pepper seedlings showed significant improvement in antioxidant enzyme activity, proline accumulation, and soluble sugar content. Furthermore, SL-related genes (CcSMAX2, CcSMXL6, and CcSMXL3) were down-regulated under DS. These findings suggest that the foliar application of SL can alleviate the adverse effects of drought tolerance by up-regulating chlorophyll content and activating antioxidant defense mechanisms.

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The data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its Supplementary Materials.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are highly grateful for funding provided by Collaborative Innovation Center of Nanfan and High-Efficiency Tropical Agriculture (XTCX2022NYB03), Hainan University, and Hainan Province Science and Technology Special Fund (ZDYF2023XDNY028).

Funding

Collaborative Innovation Center of Nanfan and High-Efficiency Tropical Agriculture, XTCX2022NYB03, Zhiwei Wang, Hainan University, and Hainan Province Science and Technology Special Fund, ZDYF2023XDNY028, Zhiwei Wang.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Quality Regulation of Tropical Horticultural Crops of Hainan Province, School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), Center of Nanfan and High-Efficiency Tropical Agriculture, Hainan University, Sanya, 572025, China

    Huangying Shu, Xiangrui Li, Jiancheng Liu, Muhammad Ahsan Altaf, Huizhen Fu, Xu Lu, Shanhan Cheng & Zhiwei Wang

  2. Key Laboratory for Quality Regulation of Tropical Horticultural Crops of Hainan Province, School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Danzhou, 571737, China

    Huangying Shu, Kaijing Xu, Jiancheng Liu, Muhammad Ahsan Altaf, Huizhen Fu, Xu Lu, Shanhan Cheng & Zhiwei Wang

  3. Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China

    Huangying Shu, Jiancheng Liu, Muhammad Ahsan Altaf, Huizhen Fu, Xu Lu, Shanhan Cheng & Zhiwei Wang

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  1. Huangying Shu
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  2. Kaijing Xu
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Contributions

Conceptualization, Shu H. and Wang Z.; methodology, Shu H. and Xu K.; software, Shu H. and Li X.; validation, Shu H. and Liu J.; formal analysis, Shu H., Muhammad A.A.; investigation, Fu H. and Lu X.; writing—original draft preparation, Shu H.; writing—review and editing, Wang Z.; visualization, Cheng S.; supervision, Wang Z.; funding acquisition, Wang Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zhiwei Wang.

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Shu, H., Xu, K., Li, X. et al. Exogenous strigolactone enhanced the drought tolerance of pepper (Capsicum chinense) by mitigating oxidative damage and altering the antioxidant mechanism. Plant Cell Rep 43, 106 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-024-03196-w

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