Abstract
Gamma radiation (GR) and salicylic acid (SA) enhance plant traits by regulating growth and development. However, the underlying mechanism of their combined therapies in plants is not well understood. In our study, the potential impact of 100 μM and 500 μM SA and/or 20, 40 Gy in Momordica charantia, a medicinal crop plant was assessed. We observed significant increase in plant root-shoot length and photosynthetic efficiency at 20 Gy dose, which further enhanced under SA application. Overall, simultaneous application of SA and GR also upregulated antioxidant capacity via production of secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids and phenolics. The highest antidiabetic activity with up to 81.5% inhibition of alpha-amylase enzyme was observed at 20 Gy + 500 μM SA combination. The expression of Sterol C-22 Desaturase, a key gene involved in the biosynthesis of β-sitosterol was upregulated under the treatment of GR and/or SA. β-sitosterol is an important compound with potent anti-cholesterol and anti-carcinogenic properties. Our study showed that highest content of β-sitosterol (1082.2 ± 68.2 ng/mg FW) was observed in M. charantia plants exposed to combined 20 Gy + 500 μM SA treatment. Therefore, gamma irradiation and salicylic acid can help in sustainable growth and production of various secondary metabolites in M. charantia, thereby enhancing its agronomic value.
Key Message
Gamma radiation and salicylic acid improves plant growth, photosynthetic efficiency, and secondary metabolite accumulation in Momordica charantia. Moreover, it upregulates the phytosterol biosynthesis pathway and β-sitosterol content.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Aparna Dutta, Scientific Assistant-F, Radiation Chemistry Radiation Safety Officer, UGC DAE CSR Kolkata centre, for her assistance during gamma irradiation treatments. The authors would also like to thank senior technician of Spinco Biotech, Mr. Jayanta Mahato, for his valuable contribution in LC-MS/MS method development.
Funding
The authors would like to thank the funding agency, UGC- DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, Kolkata Centre, West Bengal (grant number-UGC-DAE-CSR-KC/CRS/19/RB-03/1046/1062), India for extending their financial support towards this work.
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Conceptualization: Sarmistha Sen Raychaudhuri and Anindita Chakraborty; Data curation: Saptaparna Dutta; Investigation: Saptaparna Dutta; Methodology: Saptaparna Dutta; Supervision: Sarmistha Sen Raychaudhuri; Validation: Writing – original draft: Saptaparna Dutta; Writing – review & editing: Saptaparna Dutta, Sankalan Dey, Sarmistha Sen Raychaudhuri and Anindita Chakraborty.
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Dutta, S., Dey, S., Chakraborty, A. et al. Exogenous application of salicylic acid and low-dose ionizing radiation increases synthesis of bioactive compounds and upregulates phytosterol production of Bitter melon (Momordica charantia). Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 157, 63 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-024-02792-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-024-02792-8