24-Epibrassinolide alleviates the toxic effects of NaCl on photosynthetic processes in potato plants

Kolomeichuk, Liliya V.; Efimova, Marina V.; Zlobin, Ilya E.; Kreslavski, Vladimir D.; Murgan, Ol’ga K.; Kovtun, Irina S.; Khripach, Vladimir A.; Kuznetsov, Vladimir V.; Allakhverdiev, Suleyman I.

doi:10.1007/s11120-020-00708-z

Original article
Published: 14 January 2020

24-Epibrassinolide alleviates the toxic effects of NaCl on photosynthetic processes in potato plants

Liliya V. Kolomeichuk¹,
Marina V. Efimova¹,
Ilya E. Zlobin²,
Vladimir D. Kreslavski^2,3,
Ol’ga K. Murgan¹,
Irina S. Kovtun¹,
Vladimir A. Khripach⁴,
Vladimir V. Kuznetsov^1,2 &
Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0452-232X^2,3,5,6,7,8

Photosynthesis Research volume 146, pages 151–163 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Brassinosteroids are promising agents for alleviating the negative effects of salinity on plants, but the mechanism of their protective action is far from being understood. We investigated the effect of pretreatment with 24-epibrassinolide (24-EBL) on the photosynthetic and physiological parameters of potato plants under progressive salinity stress caused by root application of 100 mM NaCl. Salinity clearly inhibited primary photosynthetic processes in potato plants by reducing the contents of photosynthetic pigments, photosynthetic electron transport and photosystem II (PSII) maximal and effective quantum yields. These negative effects of salinity on primary photosynthetic processes were mainly due to toxic ionic effects on the plant’s ability to oxidize the plastoquinone pool. Pretreatment with 24-EBL alleviated this stress effect and allowed the maintenance of plastoquinone pool oxidation and the efficiency of photosystem II photochemistry to be at the same levels as those in unstressed plants; however, the pretreatment did not affect the photosynthetic pigment content. 24-EBL pretreatment clearly alleviated the decrease in leaf osmotic potential under salinity stress. The stress-induced increases in lipid peroxidation and proline contents were not changed under brassinosteroid pretreatment. However, 24-EBL pretreatment increased the peroxidase activity and improved the K⁺/Na⁺ ratio in potato leaves, which were likely responsible for the protective 24-EBL action under salt stress.

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Acknowledgements

The analyses of plant growth parameters, water status and photosynthetic parameters were supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project No. 19-34-50045 mol_nr), the analyses of gene expression and elemental composition were supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 16-16-04057); assessment of physiological parameters was supported by The Tomsk State University competitiveness improvement programme.

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Affiliations

National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russian Federation
Liliya V. Kolomeichuk, Marina V. Efimova, Ol’ga K. Murgan, Irina S. Kovtun & Vladimir V. Kuznetsov
K.A. Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
Ilya E. Zlobin, Vladimir D. Kreslavski, Vladimir V. Kuznetsov & Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev
Institute of Basic Biological Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Russian Federation
Vladimir D. Kreslavski & Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev
Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Belarus, Belarus
Vladimir A. Khripach
M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev
College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, ANAS, Baku, Azerbaijan
Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Moscow, Russian Federation
Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev

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Liliya V. Kolomeichuk
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Marina V. Efimova
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Ilya E. Zlobin
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Vladimir D. Kreslavski
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Ol’ga K. Murgan
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Irina S. Kovtun
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Vladimir A. Khripach
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Vladimir V. Kuznetsov
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Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev
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Correspondence to Ilya E. Zlobin or Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev.

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Kolomeichuk, L.V., Efimova, M.V., Zlobin, I.E. et al. 24-Epibrassinolide alleviates the toxic effects of NaCl on photosynthetic processes in potato plants. Photosynth Res 146, 151–163 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-020-00708-z

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Received: 15 November 2019
Accepted: 06 January 2020
Published: 14 January 2020
Issue Date: December 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-020-00708-z

Keywords

Solanum tuberosum L.
Salinity stress
Photosystem II
Osmotic potential
Mineral element contents