Strategies induced by methyl jasmonate in soybean seedlings under water restriction and mechanical wounding

• Published in: Acta physiologiae plantarum Vol. 46; no. 6
• Main Authors: Ferreira, Ana Maria Oliveira, Rodríguez, Vivian Andrea Coy, da Silva Dias, Geovane, Vilas Boas, Lissa Vasconcellos, López, Marlon Enrique, Bicalho, Elisa Monteze
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Amino acids; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Ethylene; Glycine max; Growth conditions; Hydrogen peroxide; Life Sciences; Lipid peroxidation; Lipids; Methyl jasmonate; Original Article; Peroxidation; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant Biochemistry; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Pretreatment; Proline; Seedlings; Seeds; Soybeans; Substrates; Wounding; Proline; MeJA; Seed treatment; Mobilization of reserves; Ethylene
• ISSN: 0137-5881; 1861-1664
• DOI: 10.1007/s11738-024-03692-2

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) is a phytohormone involved in plant defense against stress. However, its application as pretreatment in soybean seeds is limited. Here, we investigated whether seed pretreatment with MeJA mitigated the negative effects of water restriction (WR) and mechanical wounding (MW) in soybean seedlings at the V1 vegetative stage. Seeds of Glycine max (Monsoy 6410 variety) were pretreated with water or 12.5 µM MeJA for 14 h. The obtained seedlings were transferred to pots containing substrate (soil and sand) kept in a greenhouse and subjected to different growth conditions: control (no stress), WR (40% water retention), and MW. The experiment was conducted in a 2 × 3 factorial scheme (2 seed pretreatments × 3 growth conditions). The variables analyzed were ethylene levels, hydrogen peroxide, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant system enzymes, sugars, amino acids, proteins, proline, and growth (root and shoot length). WR negatively affected seedling growth, regardless of seed pretreatment, but proline levels increased with MeJA application. In seedlings subjected to MW, MeJA increased ethylene release, which was related to reduced damage. It suggests that pretreatment of soybean seeds with MeJA is a promising tool to mitigate the deleterious effects of biotic and abiotic stresses during seedling establishment, inducing distinct tolerance strategies.