article · Plants
This study investigated the effects of foliar application of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) on wheat seedlings subjected to sodic alkaline stress. Researchers applied ALA at 20 µM and observed significant improvements in plant growth, chlorophyll content, and leaf relative water content. ALA treatment also increased beneficial compounds such as total soluble sugars, carotenoids, phenols, ascorbic acid, potassium, and calcium, while reducing indicators of stress like lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, ALA modulated the activity of antioxidant enzymes and altered the expression of genes related to photosynthesis and stress response, including up-regulating PsbD and down-regulating P5CS, SOS1, and NHX1. These findings suggest that ALA enhances wheat's tolerance to alkalinity through multiple physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms.
Sodic alkaline stress severely limits wheat production, a vital global food crop. This research identifies alpha-lipoic acid as a potential protective agent that can help wheat plants better withstand these harsh soil conditions. Understanding these mechanisms could lead to new strategies for improving crop resilience and food security in affected regions.
This early-stage research suggests that foliar application of alpha-lipoic acid could be developed into an agricultural treatment to enhance wheat's tolerance to sodic alkaline soils. Farmers in regions with high soil alkalinity could potentially use such a product to improve crop yields and maintain food production. Further research would be needed to develop and test practical application methods and formulations.
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Recently, exogenous α-Lipoic acid (ALA) has been suggested to improve the tolerance of plants to a wide array of abiotic stresses. However, there is currently no definitive data on the role of ALA in wheat plants exposed to sodic alkaline stress. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of foliar application by ALA at 0 (distilled water as control) and 20 µM on wheat seedlings grown under sodic alkaline stress (50 mM 1:1 NaHCO<sub>3</sub> & Na<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>; pH 9.7. Under sodic alkaline stress, exogenous ALA significantly (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) improved growth (shoot fresh and dry weight), chlorophyll (Chl) a, b and Chl a + b, while Chl a/b ratio was not affected. Moreover, leaf relative water content (RWC), total soluble sugars, carotenoids, total soluble phenols, ascorbic acid, K and Ca were significantly increased in the ALA-treated plants compared to the ALA-untreated plants. This improvement was concomitant with reducing the rate of lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA) and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) demonstrated greater activity in the ALA-treated plants compared to the non-treated ones. Conversely, proline, catalase (CAT), guaiacol peroxidase (G-POX), Na and Na/K ratio were significantly decreased in the ALA-treated plants. Under sodic alkaline stress, the relative expression of photosystem II (D2 protein; PsbD) was significantly up-regulated in the ALA treatment (67% increase over the ALA-untreated plants); while Δ pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase (P5CS), plasma membrane Na<sup>+</sup>/H<sup>+</sup> antiporter protein of salt overly sensitive gene (SOS1) and tonoplast-localized Na<sup>+</sup>/H<sup>+</sup> antiporter protein (NHX1) were down-regulated by 21, 37 and 53%, respectively, lower than the ALA-untreated plants. These results reveal that ALA may be involved in several possible mechanisms of alkalinity tolerance in wheat plants.
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DOI: 10.3390/plants11060787
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