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MAPK-mediated regulation of growth and essential oil composition in a salt-tolerant peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) under NaCl stress

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Abstract

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita L.) is an important and commonly used flavoring agent worldwide, and salinity is a major stress that limits plant growth and reduces crop productivity. This work demonstrated the metabolic responses of essential oil production including the yield and component composition, gene expression, enzyme activity, and protein activation in a salt-tolerant peppermint Keyuan-1 with respect to NaCl stress. Our results showed that Keyuan-1 maintained normal growth and kept higher yield and content of essential oils under NaCl stress than wild-type (WT) peppermint.Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and qPCR results showed that compared to WT seedlings, a 150-mM NaCl stress exerted no obvious changes in essential oil composition, transcriptional level of enzymes related to essential oil metabolism, and activity of pulegone reductase (Pr) in Keyuan-1 peppermint which preserved the higher amount of menthol and menthone as well as the lower content of menthofuran upon the 150-mM NaCl stress. Furthermore, it was noticed that a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) protein exhibited a time-dependent activation in the Keyuan-1 peppermint and primarily involved in the modulation of the essential oil metabolism in the transcript and enzyme levels during the 12-day treatment of 150 mM NaCl. In all, our data elucidated the effect of NaCl on metabolic responses of essential oil production, and demonstrated the MAPK-dependent regulation mechanism of essential oil biosynthesis in the salt-tolerant peppermint, providing scientific basis for the economic and ecological utilization of peppermint in saline land.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the Programs for International S&T Cooperation Program of China (2011DFA30990), the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2014ZRC01073; ZR2014YL002; ZR2015PC009), the Youth Science Funds of Shandong Academy of Sciences (2013QN012; 2014QN017; 2014QN019), the Taishan Scholars Program for Overseas Experts of Shandong Province, the National High Technology Research and Development Program (863 Program) of China (2011AA10A205), the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (201303025), the Special Foundation for the Basic Work of Science and Technology (2014FY120900), the Science and Technology Development Plan Project of Shandong Province (2014GSF121028), the Foundation for Outstanding Young Scientist in Shandong Province (BS2015SW029), and the Major Special Program for Science and Technology (Key Technologies) of Shandong Province (2015ZDJS03002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biotechnology Center, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Jinan, 250014, China

    Zhe Li, Kai Guo, Paul Harvey, Quan Chen, Zhongjuan Zhao, Yanli Wei, Jishun Li & Hetong Yang

  2. Aglient Technologies (China) Co., Ltd, Beijing, 100102, China

    Wenwen Wang

  3. College of Bioengineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, 250353, China

    Guilong Li

  4. Division of Ecosystem Science, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Clayton South, VIC, 3169, Australia

    Paul Harvey

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  1. Zhe Li
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  2. Wenwen Wang
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  3. Guilong Li
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  9. Jishun Li
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  10. Hetong Yang
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Correspondence to Zhe Li.

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Handling Editor: Peter Nick

Zhe Li and Wenwen Wang are co-first authors

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Li, Z., Wang, W., Li, G. et al. MAPK-mediated regulation of growth and essential oil composition in a salt-tolerant peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) under NaCl stress. Protoplasma 253, 1541–1556 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-015-0915-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-015-0915-1

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