Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Alleviation of chilling stress by supplementation of brassinosteroid and silicon in Solanum lycopersicum L.

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aim

It is imperative to seek effective strategies for reducing chilling induced damage in crops, and one of the effective ways to help the plant overcome chilling stress (CS) is the application of hormones or supplementary nutrients. In the present study, we evaluated the CS response of tomato after exogenous supply of brassinosteroid (Br) and silicon (Si) in terms of growth, photosynthesis, pigments, antioxidant activity, transcription of antioxidants, and osmolyte accumulation.

Method

The experiment was carried out in a growth chamber under controlled conditions. After 5 weeks, half of the plants were kept at 25º C and half were kept at 4° C, and both the sets were exogenously sprayed with Br and Si individually and in combination for 1 week.

Result

Our results demonstrate that Br and Si significantly alleviate CS-induced growth inhibition, as well as a decrease in chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate. Increased antioxidant defense, elevated gene expression, photoprotection, and osmotic adjustment due to increased osmolytes are part of the Br and Si-induced defensive mechanism against CS in Solanum lycopersicum.

Conclusion

We conclude that tomato has the capability for chilling acclimation after supplementation with Br and Si, both individually and in combination. However, Si proved to be far better at helping the tomato to tolerate CS than the Br application.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

References

  • Aghdam MS, Asghari M, Farmani B et al (2012) Impact of postharvest brassinosteroids treatment on PAL activity in tomato fruit in response to chilling stress. Sci Hortic 144:116–120

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ahammed GJ, Wang Y, Mao Q et al (2020) Dopamine alleviates bisphenol A-induced phytotoxicity by enhancing antioxidant and detoxification potential in cucumber. Environ Pollut 259:113957

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Apak R, Güclü K, Özyürek M, Celik SE (2008) Mechanism of antioxidant capacity assays and the CUPRAC (cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity) assay. Microchim Acta 160:413–419

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Atayee AR, Noori MS (2020) Alleviation of cold stress in vegetable crops. J Sci Agric 4:38–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Azarfam SP, Nadian H, Moezzi A, Gholami A (2020) Effect of silicon on phytochemical and medicinal properties of Aloe vera under cold stress. Ecol Environ Res 18:561–657

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrero-Gil J, Huertas R, Rambla JL, Granell A, Salinas J (2016) Tomato plants increase their tolerance to low temperature in a chilling acclimation process entailing comprehensive transcriptional and metabolic adjustments. Plant Cell Environ 39(10):2303–2318

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barrs HD, Weatherley PE (1962) A re-examination of the relative turgidity technique for estimating water deficits in leaves. Aust J Biol Sci 15:413–428. https://doi.org/10.1071/bi9620413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bashir S, Jan N, Wani UM, Raja V, John R (2022) Co-over expression of Ascorbate Glutathione pathway enzymes improve mercury tolerance in tomato. Plant Physiol and Biochem 186:170–181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Basu S, Kumar G (2021) Exploring the significant contribution of silicon in regulation of cellular redox homeostasis for conferring stress tolerance in plants. Plant Physiol Biochem 166:393–404

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bates LS, Waldren RP, Teare ID (1973) Rapid determination of free proline for water-stress studies. Plant Soil 39:205–207

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen T, Zhang B (2016) Measurements of proline and malondialdehyde content and antioxidant enzyme activities in leaves of drought stressed cotton. Bio-Protoc 6:e1913–e1913

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dey PM (1990) Oligosaccharides. In: Methods in plant biochemistry. Elsevier, pp 189–218

  • Duan X, Tang M, Wang W (2013) Effects of silicon on physiology and biochemistry of Dendrobium moniliforme plantlets under cold stress. Agric Biotechnol 2164–4993:2

    Google Scholar 

  • Eremina M, Unterholzner SJ, Rathnayake AI et al (2016) Brassinosteroids participate in the control of basal and acquired freezing tolerance of plants. Proc Natl Acad Sci 113:E5982–E5991

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Farooq M, Wahid A, Kobayashi N et al (2009) Plant drought stress: effects, mechanisms and management. In: Sustainable agriculture. Springer, pp 153–188

  • Foyer CH, Halliwell B (1976) The presence of glutathione and glutathione reductase in chloroplasts: a proposed role in ascorbic acid metabolism. Planta 133:21–25

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gerszberg A, Hnatuszko-Konka K (2017) Tomato tolerance to abiotic stress: a review of most often engineered target sequences. Plant Growth Regul 83:175–198

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh UK, Islam MN, Siddiqui MN, Khan MAR (2021) Understanding the roles of osmolytes for acclimatizing plants to changing environment: a review of potential mechanism. Plant Signal Behav 16(8):1913306

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gong H, Zhu X, Chen K et al (2005) Silicon alleviates oxidative damage of wheat plants in pots under drought. Plant Sci 169:313–321

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gong HJ, Chen KM, Zhao ZG et al (2008) Effects of silicon on defense of wheat against oxidative stress under drought at different developmental stages. Biol Plant 52:592–596

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Habibi G (2015) Effects of soil-and foliar-applied silicon on the resistance of grapevine plants to freezing stress. Acta Biol Szeged 59:109–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Holden M (1961) The breakdown of chlorophyll by chlorophyllase. Biochem J 78:359

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain M, Khan TA, Yusuf M, Fariduddin Q (2019) Silicon-mediated role of 24-epibrassinolide in wheat under high-temperature stress. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:17163–17172

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain MA, Fahad S, Sharif R et al (2020) Multifunctional role of brassinosteroid and its analogues in plants. Plant Growth Regul 92:141–156

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jan N, Majeed U, Andrabi KI, John R (2018) Cold stress modulates osmolytes and antioxidant system in Calendula officinalis. Acta Physiol Plant 40:1–16

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang Y-P, Huang L-F, Cheng F et al (2013) Brassinosteroids accelerate recovery of photosynthetic apparatus from cold stress by balancing the electron partitioning, carboxylation and redox homeostasis in cucumber. Physiol Plant 148:133–145

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joudmand A, Hajiboland R (2019) Silicon mitigates cold stress in barley plants via modifying the activity of apoplasmic enzymes and concentration of metabolites. Acta Physiol Plant 41:1–13

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kalisz A, Jezdinskỳ A, Pokluda R et al (2016) Impacts of chilling on photosynthesis and chlorophyll pigment content in juvenile basil cultivars. Hortic Environ Biotechnol 57:330–339

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Król A, Amarowicz R, Weidner S (2015) The effects of cold stress on the phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) leaves. J Plant Physiol 189:97–104

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar D, Yusuf MA, Singh P et al (2014) Histochemical detection of superoxide and H2O2 accumulation in Brassica juncea seedlings. Bio-Protoc 4:e1108–e1108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang Y, Hua H, Zhu Y-G et al (2006) Importance of plant species and external silicon concentration to active silicon uptake and transport. New Phytol 172:63–72

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liang Y, Nikolic M, Bélanger R et al (2015) Silicon-mediated tolerance to salt stress. Silicon Agric 123–142

  • Livak KJ, Schmittgen TD (2001) Analysis of relative gene expression data using real-time quantitative PCR and the 2(-Delta Delta C(T)) method. Methods 25:402–408

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ma D, Sun D, Wang C et al (2016) Silicon application alleviates drought stress in wheat through transcriptional regulation of multiple antioxidant defense pathways. J Plant Growth Regul 35:1–10

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MacLachlan S, Zalik S (1963) Plastid structure, chlorophyll concentration, and free aminoacid composition of a chlorophyll mutant of barley. Can J Bot 41:1053–1062

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mittler R (2002) Oxidative stress, antioxidants and stress tolerance. Trends Plant Sci 7(9):405–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1360-1385(02)02312-9

  • Miura K, Furumoto T (2013) Cold signaling and cold response in plants. Int J Mol Sci 14:5312–5337

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mostofa MG, Rahman MM, Ansary MMU et al (2021) Silicon in mitigation of abiotic stress-induced oxidative damage in plants. Crit Rev Biotechnol 41:918–934

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nakata M, Ohme-Takagi M (2014) Quantification of anthocyanin content. Bio-Protoc 4:e1098–e1098

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozturk M, Turkyilmaz Unal B, García-Caparrós P, Khursheed A, Gul A, Hasanuzzaman M (2020) Osmoregulation and its actions during the drought stress in plants. Physiol Plant 172:1321–1335

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramazan S, Qazi HA, Dar ZA, John R (2021) Low temperature elicits differential biochemical and antioxidant responses in maize (Zea mays) genotypes with different susceptibility to low temperature stress. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 27:1395–1412

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rao KM, Sresty TVS (2000) Antioxidative parameters in the seedlings of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh) in response to Zn and Ni stresses. Plant Sci 157:113–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rehman B (2016) Silicon elicited varied physiological and biochemical responses in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea): A concentration dependent study. Isr J Plant Sci 63:158–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh I, Kumar U, Singh SK et al (2012) Physiological and biochemical effect of 24-epibrassinoslide on cold tolerance in maize seedlings. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 18:229–236

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Verma KK, Singh P, Song X-P (2020) Mitigating climate change for sugarcane improvement: role of silicon in alleviating abiotic stresses. Sugar Tech 22:741–749

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vriet C, Russinova E, Reuzeau C (2012) Boosting crop yields with plant steroids. Plant Cell 24:842–857

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Vulavala VK, Elbaum R, Yermiyahu U, Fogelman E, Kumar A, Ginzberg I (2016) Silicon fertilization of potato: expression of putative transporters and tuber skin quality. Planta 243(1):217–229

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang SQ, Zhao HH, Zhao LM, Gu CM, Na YG, Baosheng XIE, Pan GJ (2020) Application of brassinolide alleviates cold stress at the booting stage of rice. J Integr Agric 19(4):975–987

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu XX, He J, Zhu ZW et al (2014) Protection of photosynthesis and antioxidative system by 24-epibrassinolide in Solanum melongena under cold stress. Biol Plant 58:185–188

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xia X-J, Fang P-P, Guo X et al (2018) Brassinosteroid-mediated apoplastic H2O2-glutaredoxin 12/14 cascade regulates antioxidant capacity in response to chilling in tomato. Plant Cell Environ 41:1052–1064

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan L, Yuan Y, Du J et al (2012) Effects of 24-epibrassinolide on nitrogen metabolism in cucumber seedlings under Ca (NO3) 2 stress. Plant Physiol Biochem 61:29–35

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zargar SM, Mahajan R, Bhat JA, Nazir M, Deshmukh R (2019) Role of silicon in plant stress tolerance: opportunities to achieve a sustainable cropping system. 3 Biotech 9(3):1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang H, Jiang Y, He Z, Ma M (2005) Cadmium accumulation and oxidative burst in garlic (Allium sativum). J Plant Physiol 162:977–984

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Q, Zhou L, Liu J et al (2018) Involvement of CAT in the detoxification of HT-induced ROS burst in rice anther and its relation to pollen fertility. Plant Cell Rep 37:741–757

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng G, Tian BO, Zhang F, Tao F, Li W (2011) Plant adaptation to frequent alterations between high and low temperatures: remodelling of membrane lipids and maintenance of unsaturation levels. Plant Cell Environ 34(9):1431–1442

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou J, Wang J, Shi K et al (2012) Hydrogen peroxide is involved in the cold acclimation-induced chilling tolerance of tomato plants. Plant Physiol Biochem 60:141–149

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou J, Guo H, Wang X et al (2005) Direct and continuous synthesis of concentrated hydrogen peroxide by the gaseous reaction of H 2/O 2 non-equilibrium plasma. Chem Commun 1631–1633

  • Zhu JK (2016) Abiotic stress signaling and responses in plants. Cell 167(2):313–324

Download references

Acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge the financial support by CSIR (council for Scientific and Industrial Research), New Delhi, India and SERB core Grant (CRG/2020/006169).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, 190006, India

    Sabeeha Bashir & Riffat John

Authors
  1. Sabeeha Bashir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Riffat John
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Riffat John.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Martin J. Hodson.

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bashir, S., John, R. Alleviation of chilling stress by supplementation of brassinosteroid and silicon in Solanum lycopersicum L.. Plant Soil 486, 165–181 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05866-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05866-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation