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Jasmonic Acid Improves Growth Performance of Soybean Under Nickel Toxicity By Regulating Nickel Uptake, Redox Balance, and Oxidative Stress Metabolism

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Abstract

Soil contamination with nickel (Ni) is a persistent threat to crop production worldwide. The present study examined the putative roles of jasmonic acid (JA) in improving Ni tolerance in soybean. Our findings showed that priming of soybean seeds with JA significantly improved the growth performance of soybean when grown under excessive Ni. The enhanced Ni tolerance of soybean prompted by JA could be ascribed to its ability to regulate Ni uptake and accumulation, and to decrease Ni-induced membrane damage as evidenced by reduced levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde, lipoxygenase activity, and electrolyte leakage in Ni-stressed plants. JA also boosted redox states and antioxidant capacity in Ni-stressed plants by maintaining increased levels of ascorbate and glutathione, and enhanced activities of ROS-detoxifying enzymes compared with Ni-stressed alone plants. Additionally, methylglyoxal detoxification system was significantly upregulated in JA-primed and “JA-primed + Ni-stressed” plants, indicating an alleviating effect of JA on Ni-induced methylglyoxal toxicity. Our results conclude that JA-mediated regulation of Ni uptake and accumulation, and enhanced ROS metabolism by activating antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems contributed to improved performance of soybean under excessive Ni, thereby suggesting JA as an effective stress regulator in mitigating Ni toxicity in economically important soybean, and perhaps in other crops.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding the Research Group No. RG-1438-039. M.A.M appreciates the DST-SERB for the national postdoc fellowship (File No: PDF/2016/002720).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala, India

    Mudaser Ahmad Mir & Geetika Sirhindi

  2. Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Mohammed Nasser Alyemeni & Parvaiz Ahmad

  3. Biology Department, College of Science and Humanities, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University (PSAU), 11942, Alkharj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Pravej Alam

  4. Department of Botany, S.P. College, Srinagar, Jammu And Kashmir, 190001, India

    Parvaiz Ahmad

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  1. Mudaser Ahmad Mir
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  2. Geetika Sirhindi
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  3. Mohammed Nasser Alyemeni
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  4. Pravej Alam
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Contributions

MAM, GS, PA conceived and designed the experiments and MAM carried out the experimental work. MAM, MNA and PA analyzed the data and results. MAM, PA wrote the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Parvaiz Ahmad.

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Mir, M.A., Sirhindi, G., Alyemeni, M.N. et al. Jasmonic Acid Improves Growth Performance of Soybean Under Nickel Toxicity By Regulating Nickel Uptake, Redox Balance, and Oxidative Stress Metabolism. J Plant Growth Regul 37, 1195–1209 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-018-9814-y

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